Monday, June 20, 2005

Nobility of the Image 7

In fact, there really is little that does oppose capitalism now. The right seems to believe in a sort of unfettered, laissez-faire, fuck ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out turbo-capitalism. The left now believes in a moderated capitalism. Sure, it will rely on sweatshops, but ones that have reasonable hours, and no exploited under the age of 13. Also, maybe a dental plan. However, the left does not oppose capitalism and, in fact, shares the values of capitalism, which are now the mainstream. Note how the boycott has become the prime tool of the left- the boycott never boycotts capitalism, in fact, it is a vote for the capitalist economy.

All this is not to judge, but it is to suggest that we have reached a point in which it is largely impossible to think outside of capitalism. The nihilistic death-instinct of Al Quaida is no alternative to the pleasure instinct of capitalism, and thank god for that.

However, there has been a second change in the last few decades that has also been little analyzed; namely, the rise of the “creative class”, or what I will call “the nobility of the image”. As the industrialized nations have shifted to an “information economy”, there has been a significant increase in elites whose role seems to be simply to create information, to create “content”. Today, the yuppies work at magazines, or design clothing lines, or WebPages.

I first noticed this in Toronto, when I found that every professional that I met at a party handed me a business card with a title like “Creative Solutions” on it. They were invariably “consultants” or “web designers” or “advertising executives”. I never ran into any rich person who said “Oh, I own a factory”. The factories have moved to Mexico, and therefore, the wealthy have had to find new ways to keep their children in money.

So, what you see in Toronto is dozens of young rich kids whose parents are funding their “creative” business ventures. Walk down Queen Street and you’ll find top dollar prime real estate storefronts manned by 23 year old hipsters selling the tee-shirts that they printed in their apartment. Or fully furnished stores that sell nothing but obscure “tribal trance” records, and in most cases, don’t sell them. Ultimately, this economy is the same as the old economy- the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. But, it justifies itself by arguing that “Well, we’re rich because we’re well-educated and creative!” And you’re not.

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