Lets jump forward quite a bit, into the further stages of capitalism and what represents us and our Nation. Here is an image of Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon outside a full scale replica of the home of an average member of America's working-class, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. It has: fitted carpets, a television in the living room, two en suite bathrooms, central heating and a kitchen with a washing machine, a tumble dryer and a refrigerator. The Soviet press angrily denied that any working class individual could live in such "luxury" and they told Soviets to dismiss it simply as propaganda. They even called it the "Taj Mahal."
This image represents the 'average American', it represents the national idea the American Dream. Our statement was essentially: "this is what it means to be American, even our working-class can live in luxury." This image illustrates the shift in what it means to be American: now represented by our material progress, and these images, these commodities are the new representations of our experience as Americans and are representations of our solidarity.
"Later that same evening, Nixon was invited to appear live on Soviet television, an occasion he used to expound on the advantages of American life. Shrewdly, he did not begin his speech by touting democracy or human rights; instead he spoke of money and material progress....Americans had purchased 56 million television sets and 143 million radios...The members of the average American family could buy nine new dresses and suits and fourteen new pairs of shoes every year...and some 31 million families owned their own homes." (Botton 04)
My aim with this is not to say how bad we are that we have purchased these things, or that we own these things. What this illustrates is the shift that occurred in our nation when Capitalism really took hold. These things, these representations of our experience as Americans have now become more important than our democracy and civil rights, and despite the apparent 'luxury' of the lower class, these commodities serve to distract us form our democracy and human rights and distance us even more from each other, yet somehow they remain the representations of our nation and it's solidarity. It begs us to ask, "Who is really in control here?" What does patriotism mean now? What images represent our national pride? Our flag? Or out televisions and lemon squeezers?
Patriotism denotes ones love for their country and the ideologies it was founded upon. So, there is no patriotism in a capitalist society. We are not individuals living our own separate lives in this, what we have deemed, decent country, because this country is not truly governed or represented by the people or the people’s elected leaders and does not adhere to the ideologies we have chosen to be governed under. A government of democratically elected leaders has no control in a capitalist society because of the absolute power of currency. Money drives society, the government just makes the road system (but loves commission). So patriotism is a facade in a capitalist society. What we’ve got is an untrue feeling of pride toward the idea of the uniting of other similar subjugated individuals who happen to live on the same soil and who’s lives are piloted by the same single minded few, represented falsely by the image of our flag...and all of our commodities.
And the individuals who are actually in control have no interest in the united’s ideologies and instead subscribe only to one ideology, the ideology of unfettered profit, and are often not the same faces we see as our elected leaders (though sometimes they are). Not only do we not realize the lack of power we actually have, including our elected leaders, but we help further the system that oppresses us because we are the ones buying the goods from the self same individuals who don’t care about our ideologies or civil liberties, but instead care only of profit. Those in power (those who control currency and commerce) have done well to make it a national pride to own the things they are selling. We buy from them the things we think we need, the things we have been told and shown are all we need, that our things represent us in society, that our image is our things, and that our image, our outward appearance toward others we deem equal in society, is something we as Americans need care a lot about, and not much else. And because of this, our want of their things will never wan. Status Anxiety is a powerful tool.
Lets jump ahead a little further to our torn economy. I am not by any means an economist and have only vague notions of what actually 'went wrong'. But I do know a large portion of that is thoughtless consumer spending and debt, and I am able to pick out certain disparities in ideologies. Being that I work for a retail corporation I am whiteness to these particular disparities on a daily basis. We are all aware that we are in tough times, "dire times" some might say. People are losing jobs, companies are going under. So, where does a retail company fit into this? Truly, in these times, buying things like clothing (other than what is necessary) is undoubtedly a needless pursuit. The company knows this. But, the company needs to stay alive, it will not go under, so it continues to encourage spending and continues to subdue any notions of necessity. In the last five or so years there has been a significant shift in how the company makes money. They now find more profit coming from their "sale price" division rather than their "full retail" division. By this they are encouraged, and in this they put energy.
Every year the store has a meeting to discuss where the company is at and headed, how the fiscal year went, whether or not we made any money, where that money came from etc. Some sort of regional manager will fly in and speak. They play a video with pop songs and fancy camera work that is meant to encourage us to do our jobs better and to display success within the company. A major disparity that is always present is this: the video always starts by discussing the challenging economy at the moment and that people are really hurting. It acknowledges the companies awareness of the "dire" economy. Later it moves into a section in which they had selected a few employees (always commission based) who have had a successful year selling. They praise mightily those employees who have found, despite our economic climate, ways to get customers to spend more money than they originally intended. They praise these employees for encouraging needless spending, the selfsame virus plaguing our nation. Everyone leaves the meeting excited and ready to sell, ready to try out the new phrases that will entice customer spending. A friend of mine who works on commission selling shoes told me something his manager expects of his employees (this is company wide) is to bring out no less than 8 pairs of shoes for every customer who wants to try a shoe on. They are expected to "sell shoes," he said.
Further, and this is the big one, the company has been on a mission to get customers to sign up for credit cards. These credit cards are a fascinating thing. The main goal (at least now) of capitalism is this: the most profit with the lest amount of work (cost). These credit cards are a god-send for retail companies. I need not go into the details of how people fall into credit card debt, it is a widely established thing. Consumer debt without a doubt is the most profitable industry in the world, because it comes so cheap. Companies literally do nothing and get paid for it. So, when a company who makes it's racket in superfluities is faced with a 'tough' economy, what is their best chance at staying afloat? Consumer debt. The least amount of work and the most profit.
How do they market these credit cards? What do the card holders get in return? Well, for spending money they get points, which are equal to dollars, but only dollars that you can spend within the company and only on the companies goods. You can not use the points to pay off your debt. Another part of our video shows how many company "bucks" get issued and how much more we get in return. The average customer spends somewhere around $90 if they have a $20 company buck. So not only does the company reap the interest benefits of issuing credit cards, but they also make money by giving credit simply because consumer's are unable to stay anywhere close to the 'free' $20 credit when shopping. This is without doubt the largest disparity present; the company, aware of their products superfluity and the problems with the current economy, continues to encourage spending and consumer debt.
Why does this work? Because, like Nixon displayed at the American National Exhibition, we have expectations that are nowhere near the line of necessity. We have learned to take pride in our display of 'luxury', our material progress, and we have been taught that our image in society is important and that our things, our commodities, personify us, and any denial to accept this, ironically, is deemed un-American: calling into question our patriotism.
So, companies use the self same ideologies in which we believe against us, in their ability to commodity that which we believe in - democracy, human rights, freedom - into poor representations that only serve to distract and create disparity between ourselves and our original beliefs, and then these representations, at the surreptitious behest of those commodifying and selling, become what we think we need to believe in to show how American we are.
This then gives us a false sense of involvement with our once held ideas and beliefs (our notions of patriotism) by lessening, or completely depleting, the time spent interacting with them in a genuine manner, and instead raising interaction with the false representations of ideas and beliefs that we have bought into, because we feel that the simulacrum, the commodified representation of our idea, is adequate. Now with our tidy representations in order, we are able to go about our days, unthinking, happy with all our things, all our representations of the right and proper way of life, knowing confidently that our beliefs are adequately represented. Then, amazingly enough, we use the rest of our time working to progress this system, which strengthens the hold of these leaders, many of us even work for them, so that we may continue to purchase these false representations of experience and further still their ideology - monetary gain for themselves. We name this our duty as Americans, to work for our bread (superfluities). They have successfully used our patriotism that binds us to pull us into their system with the enticing image of a life of objects that are symbols of status in society, and have effectively called it the American Dream.
How is it that this plan was so successful? They are masters in this art because their weapon is what they have found we can not live without: what influences and dictates our lives and habits, what fosters and delivers the ideas we believe, and is itself representation - media and the image. This commodification of the image runs through everything we experience and seems only to take away from the real experience, from the real life. Where have you gone American, among this game of shadows?
A further distressing aspect of this is that the government itself has given themselves over to this system. Think about how many current or former politicians have been at one point or are now major figures in Multinational corporations. They understand the game. Look at a commercial for the Army or Navy. They use the same representations of life: a good job, home, a car et al, to entice you to join. They do not talk about democracy or about our human rights, and they sure as hell don't show what you will actually be doing, or the effect of what you are doing has on those you are doing it to. They talk instead about what comforts of life you will receive when you are done and back safely at home. And this works. People join the Army and kill people for reasons they have no idea about, and all the better for the government not to have to explain, or lie as the case would surely be. They are not joining to fight terrorism or to protect our soil, they join because they want their school to be paid for or because it's 'job training' that will allow them to get all those things they have been taught to need as an American. It's only after they join that they begin to tout nationalist conceits of their 'American Duty', but still don't know whats being hidden. Its those who are ignorant that are ideologically malleable
I would be a hypocrite if I were to pretend to be on the outside of this machine looking in, that is not the case. I grew up here, I was taught the same things, they are habitual. However, I am also not throwing my hands up or waving any sort of white flag. What I encourage anyone who reads this to do is simple: do not spend needlessly, think about what you are buying and why. Buy something that can relieve the dependency of a resource, like a bike; find the one thing you spend the most money on that you need the least and don't buy it for one year. Take steps toward that line of necessity and not away. Be steadfast and ask questions.
Encouraged Reading and source material:
Botton, A. (2004) Status Anxiety
