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And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again? Archilochus

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Psych in the Society of Control

29 comments:

nicrap said...

Century of the self - would you care to elaborate? (The video doesn't open for me for some reason.) :)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

The re-emergence of "individualism", brought about by an appeal to the irrational "id" by marketers of both "products" and "politicians".

This was a 2002 BBC production that wove a narrative of the application of psychology and the use of "focus groups" (group therapy for marketeers) to exploit consumer psychology... and how this was then applied to politics to sway "swing" voters, first by Reagan, and later adopted by Clinton and transferred to Blair.

And that fact that these techniques were invented so as to "control" and sublimate, not "respond" directly to every irrational desire of the id.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

In the 40's and 50s, business types were worried about "overproduction" of standardized products... but now have a technique which focuses upon the "individualization" of products to suit the individuality of its' consumers.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Much of this documentary focuses upon the work of Freud, his nephew Eddie Bernay's (the father of the American public relations firm), Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund and her attempts to build upon her father's work (the "benefits" of "repression" which lead to the suicide of many of her clients and, of course, Marylyn Monroe). It also delved into the work of a few of Freud's colleagues who spun off some theories that were adapted to and exploited the 60's counter-culture trends towards "liberating" the individual to pursue his own (not society's) aims.

In other words, it became acceptable to put ones-self "first" in life... and this affects over 80% of Americans.

It also delved into the work of SRI (Stanford Research Institute) that classifies people by Maslow "need hierarchy" categories (instead of social class or wealth) and has lead to a more "scientific" exploitation of psychological data.

I tend to believe the "political" aspects and linkages, as the Hoover Institute is a HUGE Republican think tank and is closely affiliated with Stanford University.

nicrap said...

Hmm. Speaking of which i think you would like Taylor's Sources of the Self (Especially see the second part: Inwardness.)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

...the documentary is a "paranoiac critical" vision... but a wholly "credible" one... given the strange positions of American politicians recently as they try appealing to the psychology of the few remaining "swing" voters.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I read about half of Taylor's "Ethics of Authenticity"... and so after seeing this video, am inclined to believe it might be a rather important idea to understand.

Thanks.

nicrap said...

:)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Here's a little more background on the video, if you're interested.

I'm reading your link, now.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

If one were to attempt to link Taylor's "origins" of self to the "strains" currently popular and expressed in the video, one would have to conclude that the Rousseauian strains are currently ascendant and gaining ground in American culture and politics.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

...although the modern "rationalists" are exploiting this romanticism and trying to sublimate its' effects.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Winston Churchill

nicrap said...

I wish i was writing these days (which i am not), i would have liked to say something. But soon. And thanks! :)

Btw, how is the election shaping up? If i have any understanding of the matter, i think a Romney win at this point will be catastrophic for the idea of America as i understand it, even more so than Obama win.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I posted the quote, because I've also been contemplating Charles Murray's "Coming Apart", and the decline of the institutions of social capital that once filled the gap between the needs of American society and their government... and the decline of group civic participation in "Fishtown" (but not "Belmont"). These institutions inlude "family" (marriage), church (rel;igiosity) work, and civic'legislative participation... the "sources" of an individual's "happiness".

In other words, the "individuals" are fragmenting and retreating into their personal "bunkers"...

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

As for the American election, I really don't care how it turns out. I'm not a fan of either candidate. Romney would weaken the Americans through subsidizing big corporatism, Obama would weaken it through big government/corporate cronyism. The world seems destined to return to the state sponsored "mercantilism" of the fifteenth-eighteenth centuries. We probably won't be able to forestall the coming inevitable wars of commercial survival and put "limits" on the corporations driving these economic trends until AFTER the coming disaster has played itself out and the survivors have learned a very harsh lesson.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

ps - I wish I had the desire to write about anything, but as of yet, I've nothing to say that hasn't already been said much better by others.

nicrap said...

Yes. It's a lose-lose scenario either way.

NG is back, btw. I saw that you were wondering about her safety. ;)

nicrap said...

ps - I wish I had the desire to write about anything, but as of yet, I've nothing to say that hasn't already been said much better by others.

lol. I would never lift the pen if i worried about that. :)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Then mine would be a poor example for you to follow. ;)

IMO, you have a unique opportunity to tell stories that have never before been heard in the West. Please seize it, and share with us some things uniquely "Indian", as refinement is defined as "taking from the best, and making it better."

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

;)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Speaking of which... I found this, yesterday... and found it interesting.

nicrap said...

lol. I liked the pedicab boatman better. :)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I liked the boatman's scenary better, but not the topic.

I must admit, I prefer the Indian "farewell" to our own.

nicrap said...

i prefer the Indian "farewell" to our own.

It's life at its best. Life as a theater.

nicrap said...

In the midst of death we are in life, and so on... ;)

Thersites said...

:)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Here is Part I of a transcript in four parts.

nicrap said...

Thanks FJ. Am in the middle of Hyperion, will come to it once that is done. :)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I posted it more for my convenience.

I'm doing some more research on VALS (SRI Psych profile categories) ;)