Blog Archives
MEDIA MAKE MONEY
I disagree with Puttnam’s analysis: that it does.
Freedom of speech hurts some people but we already have laws of negligence, defamation and slander.
It is not possible to regulate media with reference to ‘facts’ or ‘truth’ because we are in a post-truth age where these have disappeared. All opinions must be considered now. This is better than the narrow moralities of the past e.g. condemnation of witchcraft and homosexuality.
Debating of binary issues is defunct because post-truth content is not binary. Debating is being replaced by politicking. The media aim is profit, within Debord’s spectacle, with a news churn having self-serving morality. Reform of the spectacle could be to reduce employee alienation, with job improvement by workers’ councils. Also by reducing consumer alienation, by limitation of product resource use, energy demand and packaging. Investment regulation could reduce media concentration and foster competition. Duty of Care censorship could consider harmful effects on minorities of advertising. The media industry can be made more responsible by cutting off the flow of money they lure.
My novels have current issues reviewed on my blog: martinknox.com
LOVE PERSONAL OR COMMODIFIED
The ancients may not have experienced love as people do today. Relationships depended more on fulfilment of duties. When Christianity and God’s love came to prominence, people could love unrelated others. In the 12th Century, romantic love was idealistic about individuals but cynical about institutions, with gallantry and seduction continuing until today. In the Enlightenment (1685 – 1815), there was more idealism about institutions, laws and governments.
In the 1960s the Youth Revolution in America had the Beatles proclaiming ‘All You Need Is Love’ and it was taken up by a hippy social movement. Then a Frenchman, Guy de Bord, in 1967 pointed out in his book ‘The Society of the Spectacle that the appearance of commodity products and images was displacing reason and truth in the production of public goods, causing worker and consumer alienation.
Love was commodified and extraneous qualities flooded society until it was awash with commercial renditions of love. The appearances and images projected by capitalist producers colonised social life. The marriage industry produced identical experiences depersonalised events. The spectacle became less and less active and more and more contemplative and people were getting hurt.
My satire ‘Short of Love’ set at that time has a commodified love relationship that runs into unexpected problems with an unfortunate result. Love is usually more personal today.
‘Short of Love’ is available on Amazon. Reviews: martinknox.com
