The
Rebel Sell
Joseph Heath
and Andrew Potter,
HarperCollins
Publishers Ltd., Toronto, 2004
The key question for the modern economy is, 'Why buy?'. The
authors argue that 'Rebels', rather than being a threat to
capitalism, are necessary for maintaining the system's
survival. Paradoxically, the 'Why buy?' question has been answered by
the need to be 'cool' !
Rebel Sell contrasts two
explanations for patterns in consumer behaviour. Freud
concentrated on subconscious motivation. The psychological make-up of
an individual was based on the need to repress primitive impulses.
Behaviour that was required by a hunting society was ill suited
to an urban civilization. The primitive instincts were not abandoned
but were repressed. This repression, although needed in order for
society to function, resulted in various levels of
neurosis. The conflict between repressed feelings and rational
existence is played out in the subconscious. The result is a certain
level of irrationality or a state of "ordinary neurosis".
Hobbes, on the other hand, believed that man was in a constant fight
for
survival. There was a constant competition for scarce resources. Social
institutions were needed in order to physically restrain
individuals; to police the inherent conflicts which arise in an
environment of scarcity. Behaviour is a result of a rational
approach to an environment of imperfect knowledge and scarcity. "The Prisoner's Dilemma"
is used as a template to examine various decisions
made
by
individuals in this situation. The authors believe that this pattern of
behaviour is a key to
understanding how modern society works and that it can be applied to
various situations in contemporary society, e.g. the existence of the
property system and its inherent problems.
' The system of property rights,
which does an extremely good job at ensuring custodianship of land,
houses, cars and other tangible dry goods, does an extremely bad job at
protecting the atmosphere or large expanses of water or any other good
that can not be divided up and controlled. Thus the property system
fails to control certain types of negative externalizes, allowing
individuals to impose costs upon one another without having to pay any
price. When everyone does this, it leads to a prisoner's dilemma, or a
"tragedy of the commons".' ( p. 314)
In primitive societies one's
choice is limited by resources. Purchases tend to be for basic needs
and for goods not readily available. As society develops and resources
are greater; needs
and wants move from the simply practical to higher
order needs. Man being
a social animal has a highly hierarchical system, and status
becomes an important component of the purchase decision, i.e. the
need
to be distinct. That is: to have that what others do not have.
Competition for scarce resources to
satisfy basic needs has become a competition for scarce resources to
satisfy higher order needs.
If an item is in demand it will attract
suppliers who will be able to charge a sufficiently high price to
overcome the cost of production. However, as supplies increase,
the desirability of the product becomes less. It is necessary for
a capitalist economy to constantly have new scarce products. Once
brands become commonplace they lose their distinctiveness. Advertising
and branding are incorrectly singled out as tools used by business to
control buying behaviour. I am not sure I accept this.
Corporations spend a lot of time trying to decode the
psychological makeup of a target market. This seems to be somewhat
successful. An excellent
investigation about how businesses use the unconscious mind can be
found in a
Frontline episode: the
Persuaders (which can be watched online).
Modern
society has seen the emergence of a
new power class , the Creative
Class. The power of this class is not based on land or
money but rather on the ability to deal with uncertainty and requires a
high level of intellectual ability. This class is naturally opposed to
the social controls imposed by the land and money classes and appears to be
composed of non-conformists, i.e. 'Rebels'. A great example of the
adaptability of capitalism can be found with Toronto's lefty weekly NOW ;
which has become a lifestyle guide for the Creative Class. When you do
your own thing is everyone and everything For Sale? This class
has a new
definition of distinctness; not the conspicuous consumption
identified by Veblen but
rather, that which is new, shocking,
provocative i.e. 'Cool'. This leads to Cool hunting, the need by
corporations to discover what is cool. (For more on Cool Hunting I
would recommend, Pattern
Recognition, a novel by
William
Gibson.) The organization must be on a constant search for cool. Once
they are
successful
they must begin again since their success destroys cool. Prefect!
Success leads to a need for new business.
The anti-institution bias of the new class manifests itself in a
rejection of representational political institutions. As a result there
is a failure to effectively deal with problems that can only be handled
through such institutions. Taxes on green house gases would be an
effective way to deal with global warming. The disengagement of the
creative class from politics has meant that such solutions have a
greater difficulty in getting adopted. The inability for the 'Rebel' to
be part of political parties means that the status quo is
maintained. There is no
effective opposition. Just lots of sound and fury
signifying very little.
I found Rebel Sell was an
interesting read. I did have some problem with the Hobbisean approach
and with the over simplification of economic theory. However, the book
asks good questions, gives a good overview of how society functions and
highlights an important paradox: that a new class,
which has
the appearance of being rebellious, has in fact a necessary role in
maintaining the viability of the capitalist system. The need for
'distinction' is the key to making an economy work. Why buy? You
buy when it's 'cool'!
Another review of this book can
be found at This
magazine .