©ommodification
The ©ommodification of human beings is almost complete, my professor said.
Hmm...the c©ommodification is almost complete so it is precisely at this point where resistance is futile. People are dead or dying, inbetween worlds, and c©ommodification is thriving. Is it the end of history? The dialectical history that Hegel wrote about in 1806, with setbacks and "warts" alike (as Fukuyama described it): has it reached its peak?
If c©ommodified is what we are then I submit here in my blog, admitting to the accessibility of some at the expense of many others. (Read 'Moral Question of Web Publishing' - 1st entry) Perhaps this is not "at the expense of others", maybe this not pure competition, not all zero-sum in economic terms. But this is a naive way to think of this project, the c©mmodification of people.
I just finished an article about African states and mass education. The author says this is a 'Rocky Romance'. The contradictions are many; varying interests are difficult to overcome. But some interests, such as c©mmodification, use other interests as a means to its own end. It is a meta-interest.
T h a n k Y o u,
Helen C©mmodified
© Copyright 2005.
All Rights Reserved.
Hmm...the c©ommodification is almost complete so it is precisely at this point where resistance is futile. People are dead or dying, inbetween worlds, and c©ommodification is thriving. Is it the end of history? The dialectical history that Hegel wrote about in 1806, with setbacks and "warts" alike (as Fukuyama described it): has it reached its peak?
If c©ommodified is what we are then I submit here in my blog, admitting to the accessibility of some at the expense of many others. (Read 'Moral Question of Web Publishing' - 1st entry) Perhaps this is not "at the expense of others", maybe this not pure competition, not all zero-sum in economic terms. But this is a naive way to think of this project, the c©mmodification of people.
I just finished an article about African states and mass education. The author says this is a 'Rocky Romance'. The contradictions are many; varying interests are difficult to overcome. But some interests, such as c©mmodification, use other interests as a means to its own end. It is a meta-interest.
T h a n k Y o u,
Helen C©mmodified
© Copyright 2005.
All Rights Reserved.
posted by Helenism at 2:39 p.m.
3 Comments:
commodification as a meta-interest? I remember debating against a point of view that thousands may die so millions can live later. along the lines of using people to reach a strategic end point regardless of the human cost (collateral damage, cheap labour, slavery). kinda like commodity.
totally unrelated. I see you've quoted fanon in your blog title. could you blog your insights into his book "Black skin, white masks". I found the book fascinating. I like the way you break things down and would like to read your analysis. when you have time that is.
one
About your first comment...It is true. It's called 'utilitarianism' in moral philosophy. John Stuart Mill -- "the greatest good for the greatest number".
Just thinking about it, it seems wrong for thousands of people to die for the sake of millions but here is a practical example that someone shared in class which shows that commodification concerns life and death.
In food shortages (this example was south Sudan) where there are thousands starving, the head of the AID programme from the UN basically told the team to start marking off the kids who were healthier the rest. The healthy kids would be fed because there is more probability that the rations they received would save their lives whereas the other kids were too sick to survive even after receiving rations. (We do not KNOW this of course but it's a prediction they made given the circumstances)
It's a horrible story but at some point people have to just ACT AND DO SOMETHING when there are limited resources (why there are limited food rations is another point altogether). But the Aid workers had to split limited resources and wanted to do it the most "effective" way.
Post a Comment
<< Home