Image Credits- Pinterest
abstract
The modern capitalist society has successfully laid down the structure for commodifying every object and phenomenon. Technology especially, was supposed to create a world where humans would have more time for leisure and adequate resources to forgo the struggle for basic needs. Instead, we have ended up in a world where technology has enslaved us not merely by destroying work-life balance but by destroying the very opportunity for leisure and individual freedom.
Passive Consumption and the Reification of Technology
The concept of reification was given a concrete formulation by György Lukács. He described it as the granting of autonomous existence to commodities produced by humans in the first place. This objectification extends to all aspects of society - law, the state, the economic sector, and cultural institutions (Ritzer, 2011, p.279). Today, technology has begun to dictate our lives to the extent that Bruno Latour pointed out that devices are actors per se in so far as they mediate our interactions (Ritzer, 2011, p.658). We have never been more distant and alienated as we are now in the midst of such an extremely vast flow of information. Not only is this paralysing and disconnecting us from our fellow humans, but it is also deluding us with fragmentary visions of the extraordinary achievements of some people. Moreover, we have become accustomed to seeing violence and gore on scales so unimaginable in the past that relatively mild footage of serious news events fails to capture our attention or inspire strong emotions in us anymore. For, we now consume extremely violent action movies along with explicitly hardcore pornography to an extent that footage of real events of war, news stories on sexual abuse, and other forms of degradation of human life seem only to be extensions of these forms of entertainment.
As Frederic Jameson explains, aesthetic production has become integrated with general commodity production (Ritzer, 2011, p.633). Thus the line of difference between reality and fiction grows thinner in our ever-growing pursuit of realism. What is more, as Baudrillard accurately pointed out, is the fact that reality as captured by various forms of media has been transformed into more forms of entertainment. Never before did humans have access to such diverse forms of entertainment yet react with such apathy and lack of passion. Adorno (2001, p.5) pointed out that the unique characteristic of capitalism is the tendential universality of production for exchange rather than use. If use is extended to mean responsive action, the apathetic attitude of individuals may be explained. Individuals often fail to act in response to every inflow of information because they now perceive information as a commodity meant to be exchanged on the basis of need and thus having an intrinsic value rather than as a means to propagate action.
Image Credits- Pinterest
Moreover, the seamless shift from remarkable journeys of fictional characters to real ‘success stories’ of personalities now occupying prominent positions in their fields add to their delusion. While we have always known and expected fiction to deliver extraordinary and sometimes unbelievable events, it is when we hear of equally unbelievable but real instances of dedication and specialisation of these successful people that we begin to develop a false consciousness. For example - a brief content overview of motivation videos on YouTube will bring up examples with titles containing phrases like ‘practised for 20 hours a day’ or ‘slept in the office for weeks’. These stories of achievements and the glitter of rewards serve as a perpetual means of motivation for individuals whose ambitions are now tempered with the temptation of achieving unrivalled expertise and unprecedented accumulation of wealth. It is hardly surprising that political participation among the masses has been decreasing over time across the world as the growing individual desire to outshine others is leading to a narcissistic society. The simple fact escapes us that the levels of dedication required to achieve specialised brilliance in any particular field require a certain degree of isolation from what is considered a ‘normal life’.
Thus, it seems to be a trade-off between alienation and isolation. In the first instance, in order to live a life of adequate material means demands that the individual devote his/her life to types of work (as usually observed) that are by nature overspecialized and thus incapable of providing a sense of meaningful production. Hence, we are subjected to a constant sense of alienation and drown ourselves with carefully curated contents of entertainment during our leisure which provide us with our regular dose of enhancing our inspiration as well as dim our already weakened passion for any form of resistance. The ever-churning media content has now successfully transformed rebellion into a commodity that is appealing and relatable. Advertisements are often insightful enough to portray the frustrations of the individual with his/her routine and meaningless life only to end up selling merely another product as a supposed solution to the dilemma. The audacity demonstrated by the culture industry in trivialising the intense emotions of anger and rebellion depends on removing the thought that there is an alternative to the status quo (Adorno, 2001, p.10). The whole world becomes a theatre of entertainment accessible to us through multiple devices.
Therefore, we are faced with the choice of either being subjected to an over-specialised society or as in the second approach, to transform oneself into the object of over-specialisation. In the second instance, the individual can choose to become an object of expertise in a particular field, effectively isolating themselves from society and leading a life of mockery and ridicule until he/she shoots up successfully into the dreamland of real-life fiction. Such individuals represent the Icarus of every society. Only here, Icarus is now flying in his own private nuclear-powered jet. He sees no need to come down from the heights he has achieved nor does he risk getting scorched by the sun and crashing down on earth. For now, the sun (read: the state) has become a benevolent father who sees the brilliance of Icarus and looks at him as indispensable to the greatness of mankind. He is now indispensable, unlike the masses for whom their expendability in an inhuman system is a constant existential reminder.
The motive of exploitation and profit has been replaced by a domination of signs and symbols that have an intrinsic value (Ritzer, 2011, p. 638). It is no coincidence that fascist regimes have seen some of the stunning periods of technological development. The pervasive influence of technology has brought along with it the necessity for continuous reproduction thus rendering both work and leisure monotonous. It is reminiscent of fascist propaganda which too seeks not to induce a change but to perpetuate the compulsive and mindless repetition of ideology (Adorno, 2001, p.150).
By- Sounak Banerjee
My name is Sounak Banerjee and I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Applied Sociology at Christ University, Bangalore. For me, reading is meditation and writing is a solace. I love observing the society around me and frankly, it feels disconcerting at times to see certain disturbing patterns of social interactions emerging in current times.
References
Adorno, T. W. (2001). The Culture Industry (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Ritzer, G. (2011). Sociological Theory. McGraw-Hill.
Kommentarer