Individualism and Consumer Capitalism

This is a short talk on how rebellious individualism is a cliche that feeds the logic of consumer capitalism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNmnmRfAsm0

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Consumer-Capitalism
• individualism
• meaning
• rebellion

[CoffeesIsBack]

I'm cocky and barbaric. Also, I'm pretty loud. But I'm a lot of other things too. I do it to convey my emotion....

I have more problems with monotones, or soft spoken 'steady' people, than I do people who like to be vibrant/vulgar in expression.

I do know what you mean by the high sub rates, but you have to realize that has more to do with entertainment in spirited speech and outrageousness.

The biggest problem is that we aren't individuals BECAUSE of capitalism, and so we stress it more.

[Professoranton]

One might ask the question this way: What is the difference between entertainment and recreation and how is entertainment a modern cult of self-pandering to an immediate self?

[dubified89]

Dude, everyone fucking says this. It's become such a cliche. 'Capitalism thrives on individualism', etc. No it doesn't. The kind of consumerism thrives on collectivism. You want to 'fit in'? You want to be cool? You want to be part of the group? You have to buy our product to attain that. The people you're describing on youtube, from my experience, typically have fake SOCIAL identities. They act a certain way in order to stand out, not in a truly individualistic way but in a way to get approval

[ninapoetry]

It seems that attitude/a big ego can go pretty far in swaying people, unfortunately...

I think it's important to have vulnerability for any real discussion to take place. An open attitude is really lacking on this website.

I think a lot of people are anti-growth or change, and their attitudes are definitely animalistic.

[ElasticGiraffe]

dubified89 brings up an excellent point. Market freedom provides the maximum number of options, which understandably lends itself to a kind of individualism. Consumerist culture, however, is largely about conformity. What you're talking about--bombastic, histrionic, "Look at me, I'm a god unto myself, so f*** you!"--sounds like crude collectivism in individualistic clothing. I'd also note that one can be libertarian with respect to political economy and communitarian with respect to culture. :)

[RipTheSystem33]

Individualism is a myth, because it assumes we live in a vacuum, and that our own choices affect our life the most. Both of those are false. Reality is a web of things and beings that affect other things and beings, and everything is relative to everything else. Nothing can just "be" by itself: it has to inter-exist as part of everything else. From the time we are born, circumstances and choices outside of our control form who we are, from developmental psychology to our day-to-day lives.

[intricatic]

It's related to the draw towards reality TV (the most base form of 'entertainment' possible). It started with the existentialist artists and has simply devolved into a popular fad tending towards debasement. However, it's not in any way individualism. Thoreau was an individualist. Today's "individualist" is actually a collectivist with no true sense of self outside the consumerism that defines them. The proper individualists today are obscure and unknown, for sake of their intellectual survival.

[rodgerbroome]

Thank you for spending your time to give us your presentation. I really acquired some insights and some new things to thing about.

[totemdynamics]

Individualism and Consumer Capitalism

From: Professoranton | Aug 28, 2009 | 1,416 views

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[visvaldisX]

The capitalist society is hollow.

[DinaStrange]

Agree with what you are saying.

[ElasticGiraffe]

It is trendy to be an Cynical non-conformist. There is something truly paradoxical about the herd mentality of internet "freethinkers." I wouldn't call them individualistic, though. I would call them simple-minded collectivists who fancy themselves as iconoclastic individualists -- it's the image that was sold to them.

[Fyapowar]

Theamazingatheist - pig ignorant