Abstract
Abstract This theoretical work discusses consumerism's processes of subjectivation and their psychological consequences. Its regime is studied through its social imaginary and its totalitarian character: the discourse of advertising, as a global hegemon, absorbs all forms of discourse and signification, thereby actualizing capitalism's telos - the colonization of the Lebenswelt under a great imperative: everything must become a commodity, especially the subject. A process of totalization of subjectivity occurs under a commodification logic centered on the representation: every image must be transformed into commodity-signs. Thus the consumption imaginary appears as a totalizing ideology, functioning as archaic représentations collectives (Durkheim) and simulating a religious imaginary. It mass-produces subjectivity through participation mystique (Lévy-Bruhl) with its commodity-signs (and their fetish) and the whole imaginary. Its subject is defined as a bricolage of consumable commodity-signs, being therefore eternally fluid, performative, and ethereal. Thus it produces an anthropological mutation, the commodity-subject: a disposable, empty, thoroughly commodified self.
Highlights
This theoretical work proposes a broad characterization of contemporary processes of subjectivation, exploring some of their psychological consequences for the subject and focusing on the social context of consumer society and its regime of consumerism
Such proposal is derived from my doctoral thesis in Social Psychology and employs an innovative, critical theoretical approach based upon a dialogue between authors from both the sociological tradition (Durkheim, Lévy-Bruhl) and modern sociology (Baudrillard, Bauman), and Analytical (Jungian) Psychology
Our reflections may be introduced by a basic question: why prioritize the themes of consumption and consumerism when analyzing the production of subjectivity and its sociocultural context? The answers are complex and define the politico-theoretical stance adopted in this work
Summary
This theoretical work proposes a broad characterization of contemporary processes of subjectivation, exploring some of their psychological consequences for the subject and focusing on the social context of consumer society and its regime of consumerism. The actualization of such orientation appears as the relentless colonization of social and psychological forces, of life realms, or reality itself, by the capitalist ethos, and the totalizing (or even totalitarian) aspects of capitalism have been pointed out by many scholars (e.g., Guattari & Rolnik, 1996; Leys, 2007; Liodakis, 2010) Such processes of colonization by capital occur in multiple and complex forms, under consumerism its colonizing force might be summarized under one principle or common denominator: commodification. Dufour underlines an aspect of this “last stage of capitalism” that is central for this work: a transformation of minds by the ideologies of neoliberalism and consumerism through education, mass media, and culture Such transformation means a psychological colonization of subjectivity, which represents an anthropological mutation (Dufour, 2008). According to Bauman (2007, p. 12), that has become “The most prominent feature of the society of consumers ... the transformation of consumers into commodities” - the mass production of commodity-subjects
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