My opinion: "Inclusive consumerism" as the main ideology of postmodernism
When we talk about the culture of consumption, we must understand
a simple thing. Consumption is not a monolithic ideology. Rather, it
is a set of different principles depending on the format. At the
moment, the main form of the dominant ideology in the post-industrial
society is "inclusive consumption". I use this term because it is used
by "cultural marxists" like Schwab to rebrand socialism. In turn, we
can also talk about worker-peasant consumption, classical consumption
and countercultural consumption. All these systems are radically
different from "inclusive consumption". So let's look at these
differences together.
Every event has a starting point. Inclusive consumption, better known
as the system of things, emerged in the United States in the late
1950s. France in the late 1960s. In the former USSR in the early
2000s of the 21st century. So, in a way, I have been able to observe
the transformation of people's views in the course of my life.
The first and main feature of "inclusive consumerism" lies in
"planned obsolescence" and "goods on credit". That is, when the
expiration date of a product or thing is equal to the time the loan is
repaid. The second important aspect of such a system is the pervasive
"ideology of conformity". You are not buying things, you are buying
symbols and signs to match. These abstract signs, like the coloring
of plumage in birds, symbolize your personality and social status to
other consumers in their hierarchy of values. In other words, using
the counterculture term "civil", replaces political activity with the
purchase of goods. This ideology is characterized by the idea that
the choice of goods in a store or applications in a smartphone is a
full-fledged political democracy. Although, objectively speaking, the
"subscription economy" is just a form of painless sublimation of
physical reality. Because "civilian" cannot act outside the system
of things and symbols of this environment. Because for them the
collision with the physical world of being is painful. Therefore, it
is among the "civilians" that the panic is always so strong that it
looks more like psychosis or urban legends.
Therefore, the third and especially important feature of "inclusive
consumerism" is infantilism. Public and socio-political infantilism
is caused by the huge industry of neuromarketing advertising. It is
these cunning semi-legal methods of persuasion that give rise to
massive obsessive-compulsive disorders. In other words, obsessive
mental states that give rise to subcultures. As you know, a
subculture, unlike a counterculture, does not have a conflict with
the system of institutions of coercion. Therefore, the entire protest
against "inclusive behavior" is aimed at monetizing deviations. In
other words, ugliness is just an excuse to buy something new.
The fourth sign of "inclusive consumption", from my point of view,
is the cult of "cargo" or, in other words, "thingism". It is "thingism"
that is the practical expression of counterculture protest coapted by
consumption. You buy things you don't need to show your
involvement in a particular subculture. The frenzy of nostalgia and
retro also fall into this category. Thus, when one consumer meets
another consumer, they evaluate themselves by the goods and
products they use. As a matter of fact, immersion in endless "suck
round", the discussion of certain especially consumer products,
distinguish the "civilian" from the representatives of the
counterculture.
The most striking example of infantilization as a result of the
ideology of "inclusive consumerism" is the helplessness of people
before the totalitarian dictatorship of Big Tech Covid-19. In fact,
only a small percentage of people in all countries rebelled against
coercion. Basically, as experience shows, these are the owners of
alternative means of communication. Activists outside the "smartphone
ghetto" system designed to nurture "civilians". Thus, it is obvious
that the system created by the world behind the scenes is working
effectively. Billions of childish people do what they are told to do
through smartphones and social networks. For these human beings,
the socio-political activism is buying, buyup and picking up useless
junk at home or in On-line. We will talk about other forms of
consumption with you in the following publications.
