“A complete victory for crony capitalism would have broad scope, with ramifications that penetrate deep into society. Not only would millions of Americans continue to be deprived of an opportunity to produce, but also the frontiers of production would close even further to them. For the last half-century, social scientists have observed that Americans increasingly forsake the world of production for the world of consumption. As government and business work together to control the dimensions of public life, including politics and work, Americans shift their attention to private life, dwelling on the small and petty differences between brands and tastes. Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre calls this new state of affairs “bureaucratic individualism.” Many Americans no longer build towns out of deserts or drain cities out of swamps, but they do know, for example, ten different kinds of jeans and can speak authoritatively on twenty different kinds of chocolate. Serious people of all political persuasions bemoan this change as a ridiculous and embarrassing end to a great people. As crony capitalism accelerates, people lose the world of production and gain a paltry remainder. The nightmare of a deformed human being who not only does not create but who has no interest in creating, and who consumes but does not produce, becomes more real.” -from Ronald Dworkin’s How Karl Marx Can Save American Capitalism
I would first note Dworkin’s surprising turn from my initial concerns with the book. My initial concern was that he was propping up a libertarian agenda, mainly focused around deregulation that would support the efforts of smaller and newer businesses (something I do support with qualifications), under the guise of a Marxist perspective on Capitalism. But what I’ve seen thus far is more a focus on the alienation that Capitalism (especially Crony Capitalism (can lead to.
That said, there seems to be lot to unpack here. So I start by focusing on:
“For the last half-century, social scientists have observed that Americans increasingly forsake the world of production for the world of consumption. As government and business work together to control the dimensions of public life, including politics and work, Americans shift their attention to private life, dwelling on the small and petty differences between brands and tastes.”
We’ve all seen this: what I would call the culture of the connoisseur in which the individual’s method of operation lies in not actually creating anything, but rather presumably picking out the best of what others have created. We’ve seen it, for instance, in the intellectual arrogance of the contrarian: the one who, no matter what work you quote, is always there telling you:
“Oh no, silly child; such and such is much better.”
And here we have to make the distinction between contrarian condescension and a friendly recommendation. And most disconcerting here is how this has been normalized through media: most notably reality TV. Here we have people actually being entertained by the discriminate taste of the main actors in shows like American Pickers and Pawn Shop Stars. I mean watching people watching those shows is like watching primates discovering fire:
“Ooh!!! They have things. Cool things!!!”
And in this, we can see the crass materialism that has resulted in a Trump presidency. But the irony gets deeper when you consider how department stores sell us our individualism. It gets pathetic and funny at the same time. One time, in the 90’s, I saw a guy that had that Limp Biscuit look: backwards hat, khaki shorts, and a Le Tiger shirt. But it turned comical when I saw another guy walk up with the exact same wardrobe. The irony lies in the fact they chose the wardrobe to express their individuality (which they associated with Limp Biscuit (and ended up succumbing to marketers who were perfectly aware of Limp Biscuit as well. The corporations sold them their rebellion.
And I would argue that we’re starting to see the same dynamic at work with tattoos. They, once again, are little more than an expression of the individual’s taste for the creativity and production of others. And they are as much a form of consumption as anything else.