Re: Financing media/effectiveness of advertising 29 Jul 1994 14:52:38 -0600 from <gintis@econs.umass.edu>

[Jim Devine <JNDF%LMUACAD.BITNET@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Herb Gintis writes:

"BTW, I find it strange and disconcerting that so many
progressive economists have such faith in the old left-asceticist
notion that people like to consume because they are brainwashed by the
capitalist.  I think the whole idea is not worth much, and certainly
should not be taken seriously without evidence."

I, for one, don't like the "left-asceticist" notion that folks are
brainwashed to want to consume.  However, it does make more sense
that people are "brainwashed" -- and more importantly, given a whole
bunch of incentives -- to consume marketed commodities as opposed to
non-marketed goods.  Mainstream economists seem to forget that there
are other sources of happiness (in jargon, utility) besides purchas-
ing stuff.  They seem to forget that people often consume in groups,
so that even purchased products contribute to happiness with an
admixture of social relations.  (I know it's much more fun to
drink a beer with a friend (or even a stranger) than alone. But
does this show up in textbooks?)  They also seem to forget that
one can get a tremendous amount of happiness from the process of
producing something rather than simply consuming it. Even less
creative production can be fun in when done with groups of
friends.

Rather than emphasizing "advertizing [sic]", I would emphasize
the totality of the social relations created by capitalism.
Advertising is only one small piece of the picture.  I would
stress the way in which capitalism tends to individualize,
atomize, society, discouraging and sometimes even banning
collective production and consumption that isn't within
capitalist rules.  This individualization tends to make people
weak, self-hating, etc., which just sets them up to be manipulated
by charismatic leaders, TV (including not only the ads but the
shows), the mainstream news media, etc.

I don't know whether I'm agreeing with Herb here or not.
I value his call for evidence. However, we must remember that
not all propositions can be empirically falsified. For example,
the neoclassical utility maximization hypothesis, which seems
tautological at best.

sincerely,

Jim Devine
jndf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles, CA 90045-2699 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950