An Egoistic Populace (2005)
Growing
up as a child of the seventies, my adolescence in the eighties, and my
young adulthood of the nineties, I have seen a change in society. From
the free love of the sixties and early seventies to the video game
explosion of the eighties and to the Internet in the mid to late
nineties, people’s ideals and personas have changed. Humanity has
depreciated within the populace and replaced with a generation that is
self-serving and dominated by immediacy. Now, the public can connect to
anyone at anytime and purchase anything at any time anywhere in the
world; fast-food establishments govern the people’s choice for dinner in
America. People have made consumption of both a national pass-time and
neurotic obsession. Moreover, the advent of reality television and thus,
celebrity reality shows has taken over the channels, because these
types of shows underscore the narcissism in America. Trendy objects
flood the consumer market with the latest modification for one to try
and individualize it. This is in the hopes of one trying to maintain
some type of identity within a populace. But that is a perpetuated myth
by the conglomerate companies in retail, media, and music industries.
These companies promote ideals for possessions and selfishness via
commercialization and materialism, i.e., capitalism. The public psyche
is thus, in a state of continuously desire. Principles created by
America’s capitalistic machine. These independent entities condition the
public to covet materialistic objects. Up to this point, capitalism has
manifested an unhealthy and detrimental tenet for its inhabitants. Contemporary
Americans, enable a neurotic perception, thereby promoting a society
that is narcissistic and dominated by instant gratification; i.e., the populace subscribes to an impractical doctrine dominated by immediacy, possessions, and affluence.
Today,
citizens in locomotion are constantly on their cellular phones talking
excessively loudly, completely indifferent to the surrounding world and
the right to privacy by others. The meaningless psychobabble of cellular
conversations, dance in the air for all of humanity to hear. People are
scurrying about in a frantic manner trying to get from point A to point
B in as little time as possible, because time is money. Money changes
hands and commerce dominates the stock market and everyone is making and
spending money, going into debt. The importance of superfluous
possessions is the public’s signature. Instant ownership of items or
even people is somehow viewed as sophisticated ideal instead of
castigating and refuting it. All the while, Government mendacities,
military invasions, occupations, renditions, wars, and the rolling back
of the public’s civil liberties, mean little to the consciousness of the
average Americans. Of course, people care to a certain extent, but up
till now, is anything changing for the better. Does the government truly
have its public’s best interests at hand? Does the populace coalesce or
unify and fight for their civil rights of others. Does equality and
humanity, regardless of ethnicity or creed truly exist? Or does the
populace enable a guise of humanitarianism? Sadly, the public engages in
a theoretical matrix of convoluted egocentric virtues; and due to
America’s neuroses, the public exhibits a cerebral disingenuous to
others, i.e., the populace is self-absorbed, obsessive, and presents a
phoniness to others.
As
a result, America presents a blasé or indifferent outlook to important
and troubling issues, e.g., homelessness, the impoverished, the
uneducated, the elderly, sexism, racism, physical, mental, and sexual
abuse, health care, and social security are subsequently undermining our
society; and this will produce horrendous repercussions that rock the
foundation of a true democratic country. However, currently time
dominates people’s egos, because capitalism insidiously corrupts the
public’s mindset and reprograms it for vapid ideologues; i.e., senseless
ideals. For instance, name brand possessions, lavish spending, and
immediacy segregate the communities into classes, creating social
disparity. The rich have everything because they can afford to; the
middle and poor classes, produce merchandise that they in turn lust to
purchase. This is a result of the populace’s unhealthy psyche, i.e., the
people’s fear of being indistinguishable amongst others within a
society. However, people contradict themselves by buying designer
products to be an individual and impress their so-called friends, but
when everyone else has the same name brands on, how is one different? Ostensibly,
this ideal creates a blasé attitude because it reinforces an egocentric
creed to pledge to. George Simmel asserts that in “The Metropolis and
Mental Life” from his book, On Individuality and Social Forms in 1950. He contends that
people’s individuality and independence is complex to maintain in a
society. “The deepest problems of modern life flow from the attempt of
the individual to maintain the independence and individuality of his
existence against the sovereign powers of society” (324). This vain
virtue is underscored in many generic music videos nowadays. Celebrities
glamorize external objects or designer possessions; thus, exemplifying
precepts of what constitutes so-called success and alleged
individualism. For
instance, male rapper, such as 50 Cent, wears identifiable designer
labels and promotes a standard of living in over consumption. Videos
such as these present rappers that live in excess; the jewelry, the
philandering, and the designer labels are supposed to reinforce
individualism. However, everyone in these types of videos are
interchangeable or replaceable; hence, no uniqueness or individualism.
New products, new faces, thus, new trends replace older ones with the
same marketing fervor that the previous one had. Consequently, America’s
ideals have spawned other cultures in other countries to mimic our
materialistic principles. Other countries try to capture America’s
personification of quasi-individuality and success. For example, Asian
countries, such as China and Japan have adopted America’s capitalistic
credos and pop culture. Both nations are into rap or hip-hop music and
emulate the rap stars and the ideal of over consumption. Name brand
items cost three to four times what they cost in the United States.
This
type of conditioning and manipulation of the public by the media and
marketing companies is the antithesis of what morals are truly
imperative within a populace, such as sociological, economical, and
ecological principles; but sadly non-humanitarian ethics prevail today.
However, Americans should promote strong family values, such as making
one responsible for oneself, respecting others right to privacy and
expression, and freedom of choice without imposing one’s own precepts
onto another. Moreover, emphasis on education, the elderly, health care,
social security, and global issues, would make the world a better
place. Consequently other nations would take heed and try to follow our
virtues of a true democracy.
Presently,
via television, papers, magazines, movies, radio, and Internet, the
populace’s cerebral propensity for materialistic possessions and instant
gratification is habitual. As a result, industrialist tenets of the
media, in all venues, in conjunction with conglomerate businesses,
condition the public to indoctrinate capitalistic creeds. And in turn,
society will repudiate any sincerity for its heritage, culture, with the
pitiful exception of displaced veneration for the fairy-tale stories of
American history textbooks. Capitalism became the new “religion” in
humanity, and therefore, truthfulness and equality dies. These
narrow-minded cannons are accepted in other cultures too. Nowadays,
America engages in wars for our government’s benefit, while Americans
try to make as much money as possible in as little time as possible to
live the “American Dream.” The explosion of the Internet and the
commerce made many millionaires. Now there are entire huge businesses
on-line, such as search engines as Google and Yahoo!, and investment
companies, such as PowerETrade and Fidelity. Moreover, this has helped
many established companies, such as Victoria’s Secret, Staples,
Best-Buy, and Ikea.
This
apathy Simmel touches on, “Man is a creature whose existence is
dependent on indifference” (325) because, he argues is due to
over-stimuli of “city life” in a “metropolis.” Nowadays its gadgets,
clothes, quasi-friends, and sexual partners all come at the expense of
the obtainer’s neurosis of narcissism or in Simmelian terms, the
over-stimulation of one due to life in a metropolis. Americans
relinquish virtuous ideals of understanding, and kindness because they
foolishly aspire to having many possessions and meaningless friendships
and sexual relationships. The populace never comprehends that this is
all resulting from a fear of being a solitary or self-reliant entity and
the need for things to compensate this psychological void. Accordingly,
American’s propensity for anything that can substitute a feeling of
individualism or sense of superiority over others amongst the public is
desirable; hence, all of the pompous standards of living by self-made
millionaires, artists/celebrities, politicians, and on a smaller scale,
by the middle-class. Ideologues of America and Americans need to change.
Americans cannot continue to subscribe to such senseless tenets based
on egocentricity. A lack of critical thinking and indifference for the
status quo allows perceptions to remain stagnate.
Juxtaposed to Simmel contentions are Thomas Kuhn’s assertions about perceptions and the lack of critical thinking. From his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962,
chapter III, “The Nature of Normal Science”, and chapter X,
“Revolutions as Changes of World View,” Kuhn outlines paradigms,
paradigm shifts/scientific revolutions, and normal science. He simply
states “A paradigm is an accepted model or pattern” (23). However,
today, if one opposes these values and disengages from a socializing,
people deem it as some type of social deficiency or anti-socialism.
Therefore, humanitarianism is truly unattainable within the populace;
because Americans follow popular trends mainstream dogmas.
Understandably, one will never exhibit a healthy psyche and will thus,
be in an intellectual coma or negative paradigm. “Given a paradigm,
interpretation of data is central to the enterprise that explores it”
(Kuhn 122). Now, people are performing “normal science” of a
prescribed capitalistic paradigm, which in turn has become the populace
neuroses. And it will stay this way until an anomaly interjects itself;
only then will there be a paradigm shift/scientific revolution.
Notwithstanding, most of the public will carry on being blasé due to
insular mindsets. No scientific revolution yet. Agriculture, educational
systems, health care and social security can all fall by the waist
side. Global threats, such as bacterial viruses, pandemics, war, and
global warming plague our nation and the rest of the world; but they
still persist.
Therefore
in contemporary times, or the “Me!—Now!” generation, the people’s
innate need for immediate accessibility to everything will remain
paramount; commercials will impose the psychosis of “get it now; do it
now; don’t wait.” Suffice it to say, the media’s propaganda venue such
as the television industry conveys many abstractions; e.g., commercials
or shows, using, athletes, and celebrities reality shows for product
endorsements and conditioning. Therefore, the avariciousness of retail
conglomerates, marketing or advertising companies, the stock market
industry, and the government’s military proclivity for invasion,
occupation, and war has bamboozled America’s subconscious. Capitalism
has supplanted idiosyncratic imperialistic cannons in a guise of
democracy. This in turn only helps the rich and powerful to dictate to
the lower class any ideal that they wish. And people accept this and
continue their lives with no regard to the ramifications that these
ideals breed. It is unfortunate that people do not pay attention,
because if they did, they might be more empathetic and start to humanize
other more as they should. Eloquently emphasizing the duality
and conflict of this system in the populace’s psyche are assertions made
by Sigmund Freud, in his infamous “Second Lecture” from his book Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis
in 1909. He contends, “Situations of mental conflict are, of course,
exceedingly common” (7); i.e., the Ego, the Id, and the Superego work in
concert, however, not always in accord, thus, conflicts between them
occur. This he explains is due to the three specificities or regions of
one’s mind: one’s ego or conscious mind, which understands the need for
compromise between one’s Id and one’s Superego; one’s Id or
unconscious/subconscious mind, which represents egocentricity, and one’s
Superego or conscience/preconscious, which deals with morality, or the
dualism of one’s belief of right and wrong or good versus evil. So, in
psychoanalytical or Freudian terms, contemporary citizens are indulging
their Ids, which conflicts with their Superegos, because of a
superficial paradigm that endorses cupidity and instant gratification.
The populace’s psyche is fluctuating between the two spheres of
awareness. However, the public’s ego or consciousness is trying to
rationalize all of its anxieties, insecurities, and compulsions, because
its superego possesses moralistic creed and thus, ends up competing
with its id or unconsciousness. Moreover, one’s Superego splits into
two subsystems or divisions, the Ego Ideal and the Conscience. One’s Ego
Ideal deems the rules for moralistic conduct or ethical standards that
the Ego must provoke; i.e., one’s endorsed parental value system of
virtues. Contrastingly, one’s Conscience constitutes what inappropriate
behaviors are; i.e., what is socially unacceptable, also indoctrinated
by one’s parents. But since the public has not received proper or
sufficient parental leadership, their values and perceptions are altered
and for the worse. Friedrich Nietzsche illuminates this in The Genealogy of Morals, Good and Evil, Good and Bad circa
1887, in his essay, Nietzsche poignantly writes, “The two opposing
values good and bad, good and evil have been engaged in a fearful
struggle on earth for thousands of years” (52).
Inevitably,
capitalism remains at the forefront of America. The talons of
capitalism cut society into two classes, the rich and the struggle
middle-class or poor. A contention underscored in The Manifesto of the Communist Party by
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848. Marx and Engels inscribe,
“Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile
camps, into two great classes directly facing each other, the
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat” (109). This division of social classes
prevents equality, enables and induces racism. Contemporary Americans
have labeled and segregated the populace into two entities: the
“majority” who are truly the minority—who are the rich, powerful, and
egoistic; and the “minority” who are really the majority—who are
suppressed by the wealthy to concede to materialism.
The result, the “minority” people become saturated in a cerebral prison of lies imposed by the rich or
“majority”.
Nietzsche writes, “The judgment of good did not originate with those to
whom goodness was shown; that is to say, the noble, powerful,
high-stationed and high-minded” (25); i.e., the rich, powerful, or elite
supplant their set of values onto to the subordinate class. Keen
marketing conglomerates and media advertisers deceive the public; these
industrial entities have extorted annual incomes from the hard working
“middle-class”. Simmel highlights this; he says, “The metropolis has
always been the seat of money …” (326). So if the “seat of money”
represents the metropolis, then the money generated is because the rich
subsidize these industries; thus, they are the ones who benefit the most
monetarily and socially.
Irrespectively,
whether one uses Simmelian, Kuhnian, Freudian, or Marxism, when one can
ascertain that society nowadays is splitting into two parts; therefore,
one can discern that civilization is too capitalistic; meaning society
concentrates on possessions rather than endorsing humanity. And with so
many other important factors, issues, or global problems, why do we as a
species continue to enable an insidious paradigm that is destructive
and harmful? If we put our resources into beneficial ventures that help
the world and protect all species of life, then the world and all living
creatures will reap the advantageous rewards of these honorable
virtues. Clearly, the world will be a better place if the populace
financed better endeavors, such as education, homelessness, poverty,
AIDS, health care, and Social Security.
In
theory, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City or
Microsoft’s billionaire owner Bill Gates, could subsidize free housing
or affordable apartments/homes for the impoverished; additionally, they
could finance AIDS research and other top forms of infectious disease,
Social Security for the retired, Medicaid and Medicare for the elderly
and sick, and education for the future generation of Americans, but
neither of them has done so, nor has any other billionaire or
multi-millionaire done so. Unfortunately, presently, this
oppressive self-satisfying persona imposed by capitalism and the
affluent has defeated the community’s intellect. The powerful media
company’s subliminally swift marketing campaigns, corrupt, and condition
the populace’s mind. Promoting a neurosis of persistent desire or in
Freudian terms, the id, which constitutes the “I want it right
now”—“pleasure principle” is in conflict with the superego or morality.
And until a Kuhnian scientific revolution or paradigm shift happens,
citizens will linger in a Simmelian state of being blasé due to
intensification of city life in a metropolis, thereby, allowing
Marxism’s social segregation to persist. So, rest assured, an egoistic
populace will eventually fail, as did many past ancient empires, such as
the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, the Incas, the Mayas, etc; because
the pendulum will swing too far to one side, causing an imbalance that
will destroy the cornerstone of contemporary civilization. Simply
stated, the fabric of society is only so flexible; Mother Nature will
interject to ratify and eradicate the maladies in America, thus,
restoring a natural order in the world. So, unless the populace enacts,
evokes, or demands change in the name of humanity and peace, America’s
egoistic populace will continue doing normal science, and thus, impede
any scientific revolution/paradigm shift of happening. But that is the
definition of an egoistic populace.
Work Cited
Simmel, George. On Individuality and Social Forms: The Metropolis and Mental Life.
University Of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, 1950.
Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press:
Chicago, IL, 1962.
Freud, Sigmund. Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis: Second Lecture.
W.W. Norton & Company: New York City. 1989.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Genealogy of Morals: Good and Evil, Good and Bad. Dover
Press: Mineola, N.Y., 1887.
Marx, Karl. The Manifesto of the Communist Party. Signet Classics: New York City,
1848.
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