Shopping frenzy instead of bloodlust
Consumerism First money replaced God, now it is supposed to bring peace. Norbert Bolz's apology of capitalism is thought-provoking.
Consumerism First money replaced God, now it is supposed to bring peace. Norbert Bolz's apology of capitalism is thought-provoking. The slogan "Non cogito ergo konsum" was once emblazoned on the toilet door of the philosophy department of a renowned Swiss university - framed by post-pubertal piss prose. That was in the early nineties. At a time when criticism of capitalism and German-style cultural pessimism were long outdated. The parody of the Cartesian rationalist credo was of course scrawled in flaming red, the signal color of proletarian protest, and the fact that the cover of Norbert Bolz's latest essay also features this hue is more than a mere wink in the direction of Karl Marx and his creed "The Communist Manifesto", published over 150 years ago. In fact, "The Consumerist Manifesto" by the media and trend analyst, who teaches in Berlin, is also a protest pamphlet that is somewhat cool in tone but passionate in gesture. Unsurprisingly for Bolz readers, it is directed against sentimental educated citizens, anti-American old leftists and other doubters who not only privately detest brand gods and lifestyle religions, but also try to publicly denigrate them to the capitalist cult community.
Shopping makes you immuneIn view of the fundamentalist challenge that "Nine-eleven" posed as a threat to the Western consensus of values, such spoilsports feminizing the public and society are, so to speak, a force for resistance. Although this is not stated anywhere in the "Manifesto", it always resonates when the pop philosopher sings the praises of what he sees as the civilizing, even pacifying effect of consumerism. The core political message of the apology of meaningful shopping inspired by September 11 is therefore: "Consumerism is the immune system of secular world society against the virus of fanatical religions." This controversial blurb thesis is then justified inside the book as follows: "Those who moan about a loss of values fail to recognize the specific renunciation of values in modern society. The fact that it has nothing more to offer than formal democracy, liberalism and a social market economy is precisely the secret of its strength."
Bolz's plea for a global consumer citizenry, divided into six chapters (from "Terror" to "Love"), is made even more explosive by the assertion that there is "no dialogical bridge between the religions that we can build". That is why it is now more important than ever to banish the fundamentalist danger by recognizing and exporting our own achievements. The last ideological critics of postmodernism denounced this strategy of self-preservation through market expansion as neo-colonialism. You don't have to share Bolz's functional view of the world and humanity to see that his aphoristically condensed arguments have gained weight. That is why this diabolical work of enlightenment is especially recommended for those skeptical of modernity. Because it is certainly entertaining.
Oliver Classen
Shopping makes you immuneIn view of the fundamentalist challenge that "Nine-eleven" posed as a threat to the Western consensus of values, such spoilsports feminizing the public and society are, so to speak, a force for resistance. Although this is not stated anywhere in the "Manifesto", it always resonates when the pop philosopher sings the praises of what he sees as the civilizing, even pacifying effect of consumerism. The core political message of the apology of meaningful shopping inspired by September 11 is therefore: "Consumerism is the immune system of secular world society against the virus of fanatical religions." This controversial blurb thesis is then justified inside the book as follows: "Those who moan about a loss of values fail to recognize the specific renunciation of values in modern society. The fact that it has nothing more to offer than formal democracy, liberalism and a social market economy is precisely the secret of its strength."
Bolz's plea for a global consumer citizenry, divided into six chapters (from "Terror" to "Love"), is made even more explosive by the assertion that there is "no dialogical bridge between the religions that we can build". That is why it is now more important than ever to banish the fundamentalist danger by recognizing and exporting our own achievements. The last ideological critics of postmodernism denounced this strategy of self-preservation through market expansion as neo-colonialism. You don't have to share Bolz's functional view of the world and humanity to see that his aphoristically condensed arguments have gained weight. That is why this diabolical work of enlightenment is especially recommended for those skeptical of modernity. Because it is certainly entertaining.
Oliver Classen
