Commodification
...we are now close to the commodification of everything. That is, historical capitalism is in crisis precisely because, in pursuing the endless accumulation of capital, it is beginning to approximate that state of being Adam Smith asserted was ‘natural’ to man but which has never historically existed. The ‘propensity [of humanity] to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another’ has entered into domains and zones previously untouched, and the pressure to expand commodification is relatively unchecked.
Immanuel Wallerstein (1983)
‘Commodification of everything’ was a phrase introduced by Wallerstein to his grand historical scheme. However sweeping, historical schemes have psychological roots; accordingly within commodification can be seen processes of reification and
objectification,
Making objective is well paralleled in the idea of a viewpoint.
two tendencies which strip experiences of essentials. So shorn, an experience is turned out into the public world, lacking the subjective elements that were intrinsic to the pleasure it gave: the
solitary
More on the relation of loneliness and solitude..
walk on the
Latrabjarg Cliffs
To another page which stems from those cliffs.
is commandeered when a prearranged tour can take you there. Other people embrace what has been dear to us, and while the excitement of the appropriators, and their wish to share new passions, is commendable, they leave our treasured recollections diminished. What was etherial, of gossamer delicacy, and thrilling as a privacy shared, becomes procurable, evaluated, and stridently public. The subtlety of our
delight,
To a page which takes up the theme of wonder.
in the
waterfall,
Just an excuse to take you to a picture of a waterfall.
in the diamonds of the dark sky, or in the cacophony of those Cliffs, is lost to the parking meter, the observatory, or the conducted tour. The total, immersive, subjective experience vanishes; the new commodity being but a poor echo of what was.
Wallerstein’s Historical Capitalism was published by Verso, London. The quote is from page 16. Commodification is defined by the Oxford dictionary as: “The action of turning something into, or treating something as, a (mere) commodity” Which in turn is defined as: “A thing of use or value; especially a thing that is an object of trade”. Wallerstein is quoting from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. In the condensed edition published by Capstone, the quote, which is from the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 2, is on page 25.
The descriptive, objectifying, information panel sits near the 1,000 foot high sea cliffs at Latrabjarg on the north-west tip of Iceland - home to 5 million nesting sea birds; cacophony seems a fitting word.
Above, hovering on blue introduces a link: click to go, move away to stay.
Saturday 8th June 2024
...guide to this site