Communications Blindspot OfWestern Marxism_Smythe

8/12/2019 Communications Blindspot OfWestern Marxism_Smythe

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Canadi anJ ournal of Pol i t i cal andSoci al TheoryRevuecanadi ennede t h6or i e pol i t i que et soc i al eEdi t or/ R6dacteurAr t hur Kr oker P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Wnni peg)Managing Edi t or/ R6dactri ceenchefMari l oui se KrokerAssoci ate Edi t or/ RBdacteur adj oi ntAl ki s Kontos P o l i t i c a l Economy, Tor ont o)Revi ewEdi t ors/ Redacteurs des recensi onsBen Agger ( Soci ol ogy, Wat erl oo) and Al l en Mi l l s P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Wnni peg)Advi sory Board/CorniWconsui t at i fHoward Ast er P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, McMast er) , Terrence J F a r r e l l P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Mc-Master ) , Kat her i ne George ( Soci ol ogy, Wnni peg) , P h i l l i p Hansen P o l i t i c a l St udi es,Mani t oba and P o l i t i c a l Economy, Toront o), Kenneth J Hughes ( Canadi an L i t e r a t u r e ,Mani t oba) , W l l i a m Lei ss P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, and Envi r onment al St udi es, York), J amesMoore P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Concordi a) , Rod Preece P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, W l f r i d L a u r i e r ) ,Deena Wei nst ei n ( Soci ol ogy, De Paul ), M chael A Wei nst ei n P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Pur-due, ) Davi d N Wei sst ub Osgoode Ha l l Law School , York) and Cl audi a A Wi ght P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Wnni peg)The Canadi an J our nal o f P o l i t i c a l and Soci al Theory i s a refereed, i nt erdi sci pl i naryr evi ew publ i shed t r i annual l yWnter, Spri ng-Summer and F a l l Annual Subscri pt i onRat es I ndi vi dual s, 10 . 0 0 ; St udents, 7 . 0 0 ; I n s t i t u t i o n s , 15 . 00 Si ngl e Copi es, 5 . 00Pl ease add 2 . 00 extra per year f or post age out si de o f Canada. / L a Revue canadi ennede t heori e pol i t i que et soci al e e s t une r evue i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a i r e dont t o u t a r t i c l e publ i e estchoi si par un j u r y de l ect eurs i ndependant s E l l e e s t publ i ee t r o i s f o i s par anen h i v e r ,au pri nt emps- M6 e t en automne Abonnement annuel 10. 00 ; et udi ant s, 7 . 0 0 ; i n-s t i t u t i o n , 15 00 Lenumero5. 00 Aj out er 2 . 00 de f r a i s post aux pour abonnementA I et r anger E d i t o r i a l and busi ness correspondence shoul d be sent t o Prof essor Ar t hur Kroker,Department o f P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, The Uni versi t y o f Wnni peg, 515 Por t age Avenue, Wn-ni peg, Mani t oba, Canada, R3B2E9 Aut hors ar e r equest ed t o f orward t hree copi es o ft he manuscr i pt and t o provi de sel f - addressed envel opes w t h correct post age Foot -not es shoul d be assembl ed on separat e sheet s . / Tout e cor r espondance d o i t Atreadressee au prof esseur Ar t hur Kroker, Departement de Sci ence P o l i t i q u e , Uni versi t edeWnni peg, 515 Por t age Avenue, Wnni peg, Mani t oba, Canada, R3B2E9 Ondeman-de aux col l aborateurs d envoyer t r o i s exempl ai r es de l e ur manuscr i t e t de l e s ac-compagner d une envel oppet i mbree e t adressee A I expedi t eur Les not es doi vent 9tredact yl ogr aphi des sur des f e u i l l e s separ ees A l a i n de I a r t i c l e Correspondi ng addr esses f or Revi ews Canadi an publ i cat i ons shoul d be di rect ed t oProfessor Ben Agger , Department o f Soci ol ogy, Uni versi t y o f Waterl oo, Waterl oo, On-t a r i o N2L 3G1 I nt ernat i onal publ i cat i ons shoul d be di rect ed t o Professor Al l en M l l s ,Department of P o l i t i c a l Sci ence, Uni versi t y o f Wnni peg, Wnni peg, Mani t oba R3B2E9. / Adr esses auxquel l es i l f a u t envoyer l e s comptes rencl us des publ i cat i onscanadi ennes doi vent etre addessees au prof esseur Ben Agger, Departement deSoc i ol ogi e, Uni versi t e de Wat er l oo, Wat er l oo, Ont ari o N2L 3G1 des publ i cat i ons i n-t ernat i onal es doi vent etre addr esses au prof esseur Al l en M l l s , Departement de Sci en-ce P o l i t i q u e , Uni versi t e deWnni peg, Wnni peg, Mani t oba R3B2E9The J our nal acknowedges w t h grati t ude t he generous assi stance o f t he Mani tobaArtsCounc i l , the Provi nce o f Mani t oba and t he Uni versi t y o f Wnni peg f o r grant s i n supporto f publ i cat i on . / Les recl acteurs t i ennent 9 expri mer l eur r econnai ssance au Counsei ldes Arts duMani toba, Provi nce duMani t oba e t au Uni vers i t e de Wnni pegThe publ i cat i on o f t he r s t year of t he J our nal has beenmade possi bl e i n part by a grantfrom The Samuel ndSai dye Bronfman Faml y Foundati on under i t s AddedDmen-si ons rogr mme/ La pr em ere annuede publ i cat i on de l a Revue sera assuree en par-t i par une subvent i on accordee par l a Samuel and Sai dye Bronfman Faml y Foun-dati on cl ans l e cadre de sonprogrammeAddedDmensi onsMember o f t he Mani t oba I ndependent Publ i sher s Associ at i on and o f t he Canadi anPeri odi cal Publ i shers Associ ati on I ndexed i n/ I ndexee au I nt ernat i onal P o l i t i c a l Sci ence Abst r act s/ Document at i onpol i t i que i nt ernati onal e

ous droi t s reserves 1977, Canadi an J ournal of P o l i t i c a l and Soci al Theory,I nc /Revuecanadiennede t heori epol i t i que et soci al e, LteeI SSN08809920


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Canadi anJ our nalof o l i t i c a l n So c i a l Theor yRevue canadi ennede t heo r i e p o l i t i q u e et s o c i a l e

Fal l utomne 977

Vol ume Number


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hee d i t o r s deepl y r e g r e t t o l ear n of t he deat h of Pr of es sorKat her i ne George s soci at e Pr of es sor of Soci ol ogy t t heUni ver s i t y of nni pegs an advi sor y edi t or of t he J our nalProf essor Geor ge made n i nval uabl e cont r i but i on t o t he e r l yi nt e l l e t u l devel opment of t he r evi ew


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Conf r ont at i ons

Cont ent s Sommai re

TheStateandP o l i t i c a l EconomyHar ol d Chor ney Wal l ace Cl ement LeoPani t chandPaul Ph i l l i p s 71

mnesi aCr i t i que The Ma r x i s t Appr opr i at i on of t he Frankf ur t SchoolRayMorrow

105

Exchange EchangeTheMyth of t heRedTory?

GadHor ow t z 87Revi ewA r t i c l e s Comptesr endusOn Soci al j ust i ce

Char l es Tayl or 9I n Prai seof C i v i l i t y

Geor ge Woodcock 97

Communi cat i ons Bl i ndspot of WesternMarxi smDal l asSmythe

I n f i n i t y and F i n a l i t y HannahAr endt on P o l i t i c s andTruthF MechnerBarnard 29

TheI nt e l l ec t ua l L i f eAl ki s Kontos 59


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Revi ews Recensi onsMoreno etween Fai t h andReason nApproach t o I ndi vi dualandSoci al Psychol ogy

J AMESSTEVER 7

Bercuson edi t or Canadaandt heBurdenof Uni t y

L MORTON 3

Ophul s Ecol ogy andt he P o l i t i c s of Sc ar c i t y

ERN RDH MMOND 4

Mi l l e r Managi ngMadness The Case Agai nst Ci vi lCommtment D VIDWEISSTUB 6 ooksRecei ved L i v r e s recus 129

Not es Not i ces 131I ndex 37


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Canadi anJ ournal of P o l i t i c a l andSoci al Theor y/ Revue canadi enne de t heor i epol i t i que et s oc i a l e Vol 1 No ( Fal l / Aut omne 1977)

COMMUNIC TIONSLINDSPOTOFWESTERNM RXSMDal l as I Smythe

he ar gument present ed her e t hat west ern Marxi st a na l y s e s havenegl ect ed t he economc and p o l i t i c a l si gni f i cance of mass communi cat i onssyst ems an at t empt t o s t a r t a debat e, not t o concl ude one Frequent l y,Marxi st s and t hose r a di c a l s oc i a l c r i t i c s whouse Marxi st t ermnol ogy l ocat e t hesi gni f i cance of mass communi cat i ons syst ems i n t h e i r capaci t y t o produce i deol ogy whi ch i s hel d t o ac t as a s o r t of i n v i s i b l e gl ue t hat hol ds t oget hert he c a p i t a l i s t syst em Thi s subj ect i ve subst ance, di vorced f rom h i s t o r i c a lmat er i a l i t y i s si ml ar t o such previ ous concept s as et her ; t hat t os a y t he proof of i t s exi st ence i s f ound by such wr i t e r s t o be t he nec es s i t y f or i t t oex i s t so t hat c e r t a i n other phenomenamay be expl ai ned I t i s t hus an i d e a l i s t

p r e s c i ent i f i c rat her t han anon- sci ent i f i c expl anat i on But f or Ma r x i s t s such an expl anat ory not i on shoul d be unsat i sf act ory Thef i r s t quest i on t hat h i s t o r i c a l mat e r i a l i s t s shoul d ask about mass communi cat i onssyst ems what economc f unct i on f or capi t al do t hey s e r v e at t empt i ng t ounderst and t he i r r o l e i n t he r eproduct i on of c a p i t a l i s t r e l a t i o n s of product i on Thi s a r t i c l e t hen, poses t h i s quest i on and at t empt s t o f r ame some answers t o i t Much of what f ol l ows i s cont ent i ous because i t r a i s e s quest i ons not onl y aboutchanges i n capi t al i sms i nc e Marx s deat h but al s o i n some i nst ances, about t headequacy of c e r t a i n general l y accept ed Marxi st categor i es t o account proper l y

f or t hese devel opment s However , as Leni n r emar ked i n a di f f erent context ,onecannot makean omel et t e wi t hout breaki ng t he eggs Themass medi a of communi cat i ons and rel at ed i n s t i t u t i o n s concerned wi t h

advert i si ng, mar ket r e s e a r c h publ i c r e l a t i o n s and product and package desi gnrepresent a bl i ndspot i n Marxi st t heory i n t he European and At l ant i c basi ncul t ures he a c t i v i t i e s of t hese i n s t i t u t i o n s are i nt i mat el y connect ed wi t hconsumer consci ousness, needs, l e i s u r e t i me u s e commodi ty f et i shi sm workand al i enat i on s we wi l l s ee when t hese i n s t i t u t i o n s ar e examned f r om amat er i a l i s t poi nt of vi ew, t he l abour t heory of val ue, t he expenses of c i rc ul a t i on t he val ue of t he pecul i ar commodi ty ( l abour power) , t he f ormoft he p r o l e t a r i a t and t he c l as s st ruggl e under monopol y c a p i t a l i s t condi t i ons ar ea l s o deepl y i nvol ved he l i t e r a t u r e of Mar xi sm conspi cuousl y l acki ng i nmat e r i a l i s t ana l ys i s of t he f unct i ons of t he compl ex of i ns t i t u t i ons c a l l ed t heconsci ousness i ndust ry


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LL SMYTHEThe bl ockage i n r ecogni zi ng t he r o l e of t he consci ousness i ndustr y t r a c e s back

t o a f a i l u r e t o take a mat eri al i st approach t o communi cat i ons oth econom cgoods i n general and communi cat i ons goods i n par t i cul ar exi st ed l ong beforecapi tal i sm and monopol y capi tal i sm Whi l e speci al i zed i n s t i t u t i o n s f or t hemass pr oduct i on of communi cat i ons i e newspaper s andmagazi nes) appear edi n capi tal i sm i n t he ei ght eenth century, these i n s t i t u t i o n s di d not reach t h e i rmat ur e f o rm u n t i l monopol y capi tal i sm shi f ted t h e i r pr i nci pal econom c baset o adver t i s i ng i n t he l a t e ni net eent h century y a grave c ul t u r a l l a g Mar xi stt heor y has not t aken account of mass communi cat i ons Thi s l ag i n consi der i ngt he product of t he mass medi a i s more underst andabl e i n Eur opean ( i ncl udi ngEastern Eur opean) count r i es t han i n NorthAmer i ca There t he r i s e t o ascend-ancy of adver t i si ng i n dom nat i ng t he pol i cy of newspaper s and per i odi cal swas del ayed by customand by l aw Even i n t he r adi o- TV broadcast medi a, t her o l e of t he s t a t e (through ORTF BBC I TV, East Eur opean s t a t e monopol i es,et c . has been r e s i s t a nt t o t he i nr oads of monopol y capi tal i sm as comparedw t h t he Uni t ed S t a t e s and Canada But t he evi dence accumul at es (recentdevel opment s i n r i t i s h French, West German and I t a l i a n mass medi a, f orexampl e) that such t radi t i onal r e s i s t a n c e i s gi vi ng way under t he onsl aught ofpressures f r om t he centre of t he monopol y c a p i t a l i s t system Eur opeans r eadi ngt h i s essay shoul d t r y t o per cei ve i t as ref l ect i ng t he Northmeri canscene t oday,andper haps t h e i r s soon t t he root of a Mar xi st vi ewof capi tal i sm i s t he ne ces s i t y t o seek an obj ect i ver e a l i t y whi ch means i n t h i s case an obj ecti ve def i ni t i on of t he commodi typr oduced by capi tal i sm What i s t he commodi ty f o rm of mass- pr oduced,adver t i ser - suppor t ed communi cat i ons? Thi s i s t he threshol d quest i on Thebour geoi s i d e a l i s t vi ew of t he r e a l i t y of t he communi cat i on commodi ty i smessages , i nf or mat i on , i mages , meani ng ent er t ai nment ,or i ent at i on , educat i on , and mani pul at i on Al l of these concept s aresubj ect i ve ment al e n t i t i e s and l l deal w t h super f i ci al appearances Nowheredo t he t h e o r i s t s who adopt t h i s wor l dvi ew deal w t h t he commodi ty formofmass communi cat i ons under monopol y capi tal i smonwhi ch ex i s t p a r a s i t i c a l l y ahost of sub- market s deal i ng w t h c u l t u r a l i ndus t r y e. g t he mar ket s f ornews and ent er t ai nment T a c i t l y t h i s i d e a l i s t theory of t he com-muni cat i ons commodi ty appear s t o have been hel d by most west ern Mar xi st sa f t e r Marx as wel l as by bour geoi s t h e o r i s t s : Leni nz, Vebl en, Mar cuse, Adorno,Bar an and Sweezy, f or exampl e, as wel l as Gal br ai t h and or t hodox econom st s So t oo f or those who t ake a more or l e s s Mar xi st vi ew of communi cat i ons( Nordenst r eng, Enzensberger, Hamel i nk, S c h i l l e r I urdockandGol di ng andme unt i l now) as wel l as t he convent i onal wr i t e r s exempl i f i ed i n t he SageAnnual Revi ew of Communi cati ons Resear chs Al so i ncl uded i n t he i d e a l i s tcamp are those apol ogi st s who d i s s o l ve t he r e a l i t y of communi cat i ons under


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LL S SMYTHEcapi t al i sm Baran and Sweezy s Monopol y Capi t al i sm demonst r at ed howmonopol y rather t han compet i t i on r u l e s cont empor ar y capi tal i sm and i t maybe t aken as t he ref erence poi nt fromwhi ch t o address t h i s i s s ue L i ke J . K Gal brai t h 12 Baran and Sweezy emphasi ze t he r o l e of management of demandby t he ol i gopol i es whi ch dom nat e monopol y capi t al i sm Bot h c i v i l i a n andm l i t a r y demand are managed t o provi de t he consumpt i on and i nvest mento u t l e t s r equi r ed f or t he real i zat i on of a r i s i n g surpl us The process of demandmanagement begi ns and ends wi t h t he mar ket f or t he commodi ty f i r s t ast est market s , and, when pr oduct andpackage product i on have beensui t abl ydesi gned and execut ed, as mass adver t i si ng-market i ng But Baran and Sweezyf a i l t o pursue i n an h i s t o r i c a l mat eri al i st way t he obvi ous i s s ues whi ch are r a i s edby demandmanagement - vi a- advert i s i ng under monopol ycapi t al i smWhat happens when a monopol y c a p i t a l i s t system a dv er t i s es ? Baran andSweezy answer, as does Gal brai t h, psychol ogi cal mani pul at i on They c i t eChamber l i n as pr ovi di ng i n 1931 t he aut hor i t at i ve def i ni t i on of cont emporar yadvert i si ng 13 Moreover , t hey somewhat premat ur el y f orecl ose f ur t her i n -vest i gat i on by s t a t i n g f l a t l y : The i mmedi at e commer ci al purposes and e f f e c t sof advert i si ng have been t hor oughl y anal yzed i n econom c l i t e r a t u r e and arereadi l y grasped 14 The mass medi a of communi cat i ons possess no bl ack boxf r om whi ch t he magi c of psychol ogi cal mani pul at i on di spensed Nei t herbourgeoi s nor Marxi st econom st s have consi dered t wor t hwhi l e t o ask t hef ol l ow ng quest i ons whi ch an h i s t o r i c a l mat eri al i st approach woul d seemt oi ndi cat e : a What do a dv er t i s er s buy wi t h t hei r adver t i s i ng expendi t ur es? As hard-nosed bus i nessmen t hey a r e not payi ng f or advert i si ng f or not hi ng, nor fromal t r ui sm I suggest that what t hey buy a r e t he s er v i c es of audi ences wi t hpredi ct abl e s pec i f i c a t i on s who w i l l pay at t ent i on i n predi ct abl e numbersandatpart i cul ar t i mes t o part i cul ar means of communi ca t i on ( TV, r a d i o , newspapers,magazi nes, bi l l boards, and t h i r d - c l a s s mai l ) 5 As c o l l e c t i v i t i e s these audi encesa r e commodi t i es As commodi t i es t hey a r e deal t wi t h i n mar ket s by producersand buyer s ( the l a t t e r bei ng a dv er t i s er s Such mar ket s es t a bl i s h p r i c es i n t hef am l i a r mode of monopol y capi t al i sm Both these mar ket s and t he audi encecommodi t i es t r aded i n are speci al i zed The audi ence commodi t i es bears pec i f i c a t i ons known i n the bus i ness as t he demographi cs The s pec i f i c a t i on sf or t he audi ence commodi t i es i ncl ude age, sex , i ncome l e v e l , f a m l y com-posi t i on, ur ban or r ur a l l o c a t i o n , et hni c character, owners hi p of homeaut omobi l e, c r edi t card s t a t u s , s oc i a l c l a s s and, i n t he case of hobby and f anmagazi nes, a dedi cat i on t o phot ogr aphy, model el e c t r i c t r a i ns , sports c a r s ,p h i l a t e l y , do- i t - yoursel f c r a f t s , f orei gn t r a v e l , ki nky sex , et c

b Howa r e a dv er t i s er s assured t hat t hey are get t i ng what they pay f o r whenthey buy audi ences?sub- i ndust r y s e c t o r of t he consci ousness i ndust r y checkst o det erm ne The soci o- econom c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t he del i vered


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LIN SPOT

audi ence/ r eader shi p and t s s i z e are t he busi ness of C Ni el sen and a hostof compet i t or s who s p e c i a l i z e i n r api d assessment of t he del i ver ed audi encecommodi ty he behavi our of t he members of t he audi ence pr oduct under t hei mpact of adver t i si ng and t he edi t or i al cont ent s t he obj ect of mar ketresearch by a l ar ge number of i ndependent mar ket research agenci es as wel l asby s im l a r s t a f f s l ocat ed i n adver t i si ng agenci es, t he adver t i si ng cor por at i on andi n medi aent er pr i ses 16

c) What i n s t i t u t i o n s pr oduce t he commodi ty whi ch adve r t i s e r s buy wi t ht h e i r adver t i si ng expendi t ur es? he owner s of TV and r adi o s t a t i o n s andnet works, newspaper s, magazi nes and ent er pr i ses whi ch s p e c i a l i z e i n pr ovi di ngbi l l board and t h i r d c l a s s adver t i si ng ar e t he pr i nci pal producers Thi s a r r a y ofproducer s i s i nt er l ocked i n many ways wi t h adver t i s i ng agenci es , t al entagenci es, package programme producers, f i l m producers, news servi cese . g AP, UPI , Reuters , syndi cat or s of news col umns , w r i t e r s agent s,book publ i sher s, mot i on pi ct ur e producer s and d i s t r i b u t o r s Last but by nomeans l e a s t i n t he array of i n s t i t u t i o n s whi ch pr oduce t he audi ence commodi ty s t he f am l y he most i mpor t ant resource empl oyed i n produci ng t heaudi ence commodi ty ar e t he i ndi vi dual s and f a m l i e s i n t he nat i ons whi chpermt adver t i si ng d) What s t he nat ur e of t he cont ent of t he mass medi a i n econom c t ermsunder monopol y capi t al i sm? he i nf ormat i on, ent er t ai nment and educa-t i onal mater i al t r ansmt ted t o t he audi ence s an i nducement g i f t ,br i be or f ree l unch t o r e c r u i t pot ent i al members of t he audi ence and t omai nt ai n t h e i r l oya l at t ent i on The appropr i at eness of t he anal ogy t o t he f reel unch i n t he ol d- t i me sal oon or c oc kt a i l bar i s mani f est t he f r ee l unch c ons i s t sof mat er i al s whi ch whet t he pr ospect i ve audi ence members appet i t es and t hus 1 ) a t t r a c t and keep them at t endi ng t o t he pr ogr amme, newspaper ormagazi ne, and 2 ) c u l t i v a t e a mood conduci ve t o f avour abl e r eacti on t o t hee x p l i c i t and i mpl i c i t adve r t i s e r s messages l o say t h i s i s not t o obscur e t heagenda- set t i ng f uncti on of t he edi tor i al cont ent and adver t i si ng f or t hepopul at i ons whi ch dependon t he mas s medi a t o f i n d out what s happeni ng i nt he wor l d, nor i s i t t o deni grat e the t echni cal v i r t u o s i t y wi t h whi ch t he f reel unch i s pr epar ed and served Gr eat s k i l l , t a l e nt andmuch expense goes i n tosuch product i on, t hough l e s s per uni t of cont ent t han i n t he pr oduct i on ofoven adver t i sement s Onl y a monst r ous m sdi rect i on of at t ent i on obscur es t her e a l nature of t he commodi t i es i nvol ved Thuswi t h no reference t o t he Sal esEf for t , Bar an andSweezy can say

Ther e s not onl y s e r i ous quest i on as t o t he val ue o f a r t i s t i co f f e r i ng s c ar r i e d by t he mas s communi cat i ons medi a andser vi ng d i r e c t l y or i ndi rect l y as ve hi c l e s of adver t i si ng ; t s


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LL SMYTHEbeyond di sput e that l l of themcoul d be pr ovi ded a t a c o s tt o consumer s i ncompar abl y l ower t han t hey a r e f or ced t opay t hr ough commer ci al adver t i si ng 18

nder monopol y capi t a l i smTV- r adi o progr ams are pr ovi ded f r ee and t henewspapers andmagazi nes ar e provi ded a t p r i c e s whi ch cover del i very ( but notproduct i on) c o s t s t o t he medi a ent erpr i se I n t he c a s e of newspaper s andsomemagazi nes, some readers c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y buy t hemedi aproduct because t heywant t he adver t i sement s Thi s s e s p e c i a l l y t he p r a c t i c e wi t h c l a s s i f i e d ad-ver t i sement s and di spl ay adver t i si ng of product s and pr i c es by l o c a l merchant si n newspaper s and wi t h product i nf ormat i on i n adver t i sement s i n c e r t a i nmagazi nes e . g hobbymagazi nes) Regar dl ess of these v a r i a t i o n s , t he c e n t r a lpurpose of t he i nf ormat i on, ent er t ai nment and educat i onal mat er i al i n -cl udi ng that i n t he adver t i sement s t hemsel ves) t r ansmt t ed t o t he audi ence s t oensur e att ent i on t o t he product s and s e r v i c es bei ng adver t i sed Compet i t i onamongmedi a ent erpr i ses produces i n t r i c a t e s t r a t e g i e s gover ni ng t he pl acementof programmes i n t erms of t ypes of product s adver t i sed and t ypes of f reel unch provi ded i n d i f f e r e n t t i me segment s of t he week e . g chi l dren s hours,dayt i me housew ves hours, e t c . l l t h i s i n order t o opt i mze t he f l ow ofpart i cul ar t ypes of audi ences t o one programme from t s i mmedi at epredecessors and t o i t s i mmedi at e successors wi t h regard t o t he s t r a t e g i e s ofr i v a l net works 19

e Wat s t he nature of t he s er v i c e per f ormed f o r t he adver t i ser by t hemembers of t he purchased audi ences? I n economc term, t he audi encecommodi ty s a non- durabl e producers goodwhi ch i s bought and used i n t hemar ket i ng of t he a d v e r t i s e r s product he work whi ch audi ence membersper f orm f or t he adver t i ser t o whomt hey have been sol d i s t o l ear n t o buypart i cul ar br ands of consumer goods, and t o spend t h e i r i ncome a c -cor di ngl y I n s h o r t , they work t o create t he demand f or adver t i sed goods whi chi s t he purpose of t he monopol y c a p i t a l i s t a d v e r t i s e r s Whi l e doi ng t h i s ,audi ence members a r e si mul t aneousl y r eproduci ng t h e i r own l abour power I nt h i s regard, t i s appropr i at e t o avoi d t he t rap of mani pul at i on- expl anat i on bynot i ng t h a t i f such l abour power i s i n f a c t , l o y a l l y attached t o t he monopol yc a p i t a l i s t syst em t h i s woul d bewel come t o t he adver t i sers whose exi st encedepends on t he mai nt enance of t hat syst em But i n r eproduci ng t h e i r l abourpower workers r espond t o ot her r e a l i s t i c condi t i ons whi ch may on occasi ons ur p r i s e and di sappoi nt t he a d v e r t i s e r s I t seems, however , that whenworkersunder monopol y c a p i t a l i s t condi t i ons s e r v e a d v e r t i s e r s t o compl et e t hepr oduct i on process of consumer goods by per f ormng t he ul t i mate mar ket i ngs e r v i c e f o r them theseworkers a r e maki ng d e ci s i v e mat er i al deci si ons whi ch wi l la f f e c t howt hey wi l l produce and r eproduce t h e i r l abour power As t he Chi nese


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BLINDSPOTemphasi zed duri ng theCul t ur al Revol ut i on, i f peopl e are spendi ng t hei r ti mecat er i ng t o thei r i ndi vi dual i nterest s and s e n s i t i v i t i e s , they cannot be usi ngthesame t i me al so t o overthrowcapi tal i st i nf l uence and t o bui l dsoci al i sm f owdoes demand-management by monopol y capi tal i sm by means ofadver t i si ng, rel ate t o the l abour theory of val ue, t o l ei sure and t o f reet i me ? As Wl l i amLi vant puts i t , the power of the concept of sur pl us val ue r e s t s whol l y on thewayMarx sol ved the great val ue probl emof c l as s i c alpol i t i cal economy by s p l i t t i n g t he not i on of l abour i n two, i nto l abour i nproduct i ve use and l abour power ( t he capaci t y t o l abour ) . 2U Labour i nproduct i ve usei n theproducti on of commodi t i es - i n- gener al was Mar x s concerni n t he three vol umes of Capi t a l , except f or Vol 1, chapt er 6 and scatteredpassages i n the Grundi i ss e I t i s cl ear fromthese passages that Marx assumedthat l abour power i s produced by the l abour er and by hi s or her i mmedi atef aml y, i . e under the condi t i ons of handi craf t producti on I n aword l abourpower was home-made i n the absence of domnant brand-name commodi t i es , mass adver t i si ng, and t he mass medi a (whi ch had not yet been i n -vented by monopol y capi tal i sm I n Marx s per i od and i n hi s anal ysi s, thepri nci pal aspect of capi tal i st producti onwas the al i enat i on of worker s fromthemeans of produci ng commodi t i es - i n- gener al Nowthe pri nci pal aspect ofcapi tal i st product i on has become the al i enat i on of workers fromthemeans ofproduci ng and reproduci ng t hemsel ves The prevai l i ng western Marxi s t vi ewtoday s t i l l hol ds the i ncor rect assumpti on that t he l abour er i s an i ndependentcommodi typroducer of l abour power whi ch i s hi s t o s e l l Li vant says i t wel l

What of t en escapes at t ent i on i s that j ust because thel abour er s e l l s i t hi s or her l abour power) does not meanthat he or sheproduces i t Ware m s l ed by f i xat i ng onthe true f act that a humanmust eat and sl eep i ntot hi nki ng that t her ef or e the s e l l e r of l abour power must al sobe the producer Agai n the error of two combines i ntoone 21

Wneedadi al ecti cal materi al i st descri pti onof t he producti onof l abour powerof the capaci t y and i ncapaci t y t o l abour and of the rel at i onshi p of theproducti onof l abour power t o our abi l i ty t o l i v e ashumanbei ngs 2 2m correct i n assumngthat al l non- sl eepi ng ti meunder capi tal i smi s workt i me?23 Wl l i amLi vant i n commenti ngona draf t of t hi s ar t i c l e , poi nt s out thatt he assumpti on shoul d be pl ai nl y stated As heputs i t , aMar xi s t vi ew


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LL SMYTHE sees l e i s u r e t i me c o r r e c t l y a s t i me of pr oduct i on,r epr oduct i on and r e p a i r of l abour power Thi s pr oduct i on,r epr oduct i on and r e pa i r a r e a c t i v i t i e s They are t hi ngspeopl e must do As such, they a l s o requi re l abour power To be s u r e , t hi s l a t t er l abour power you do not have t o s e l ld i r e c t l y t o c ap i t a l But you do have t o use t t o producel abour power i n t he formyou do have t o s e l l Whywas t h i s hard tosee? t hi nk we can f i nd t he answer i fwe l ook a t non-wor k t i me Marx poi nt s out many t i mes e g Capi t al , Vol Ch 6) that wagel abour onl y becomespossi bl e i f your l abour power becomes a personalpossessi on, whi ch t i s possi bl e f or you t o s e l l Youcan dowhat you want w t h t Non work t i me l abourpower whi ch i s yours not- to- sel l Hence t seems t o bedoubl y your personal poss essi on Whenwesee t h i s , we can f i t i t w t h i nwhat Marx c a l l e d t he f a l s e appear ance of wage l abour c i t i n g Wages , P r i c esandP r o f i t , Peki ng, 1973, pp 50- 1 t hi nk t h i s f a l s eappear ance has t ot her s i de J ust a s t appears, a t wor k,that you are pai d f or al l t he l abour t i me you do s e l l , so tappears , of f - wor k, that t he l abour t i me you are not pai df or i s not sol d Wrk and non- wor k t i me bear i nterest i ng r e l a t i o n s thatneed exam nati on, t o see beneath t he f a l s e appearances They i n f a c t di vi de t he whol e wor l d of commodi t i es i nt wo For at wor k t i s pri nci pal l y commodi t i es- i n- gener alt hat ar e made and di str i but ed Those who make anddi str i bute these commodi t i es do not s e l l them But o f f -wor k, we f i nd somet hi ng e l s e What i s bei ng producedthere i s pri mari l y t he pecul i ar commodi t y, l abour power nd of f - wor k, those who make t h i s commodi t y, a l s o donot s e l l t But i t i s s ol d, as surel y a s commodi t i es- i n-general made a t t he workpl ace

I t shoul d be c l e ar that f or at l e as t s e v e r a l generati ons l abour power i n ad-vanced monopol y c a p i t a l i s t count r i es has been pr oduced pri mari l y by i n -s t i t u t i o n s other than t he i ndi vi dual and hi s/ her f am l y The mass medi a ofcommuni cat i ons and adver t i si ng pl ay a l ar ge and pr obabl y domnant r o l e


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BLINDSPOTt hr ough t he process of consumpt i on ( by gui di ng t he maki ng of t he shoppi ngl i s t a s wel l as t hr ough t he i deol ogi cal t eachi ng whi ch permeat es both t headvert i si ng and ost ensi bl y non- adver t i si ng mat eri al wi t h whi ch they producet he audi ence commodi ty. 2 5 h n cosmet i c counters i n depar tment s t o r e sdi spl ay Boxed Ego ( Vancouver , Dec ember , 1975), t he d i a l e c t i c a l r e l a t i o n oft he materi al and consc i ousness a s p e c t s of t he product i on of l abour powershoul d be evi dent What has happened t o t he t i me avai l abl e t o workers and t he way i t i s used i nt he past century? I n 1850under condi t i ons of cottage i ndust ry, e unbrandedconsumer goods, t he aver age workweek was about 70 hour s per week (and t hework force was pr edomnant l y mal e) . 2 At about t he t i me when Marx waswri t i ng t he Gr undr i r ce, workers s a v i ngs under t he most f avour abl e condi t i onsof expl oi t ati on, coul d makepossi bl e

t he wor ker s part i c i pat i on i n t he hi gher, even c u l t u r a ls a t i s f a c t i o n s the agi ta t i on of h i s own i n t e r e s t s newspapersubscr i pt i ons, at t endi ng l ec t u r e s educat i ng hi s chi l dren,devel opi ng h i s t a s t e et c . , hi s onl y share of c i v i l i z a t i o nwhi ch di st i ngui shes hi mfrom he s l a v e . 2 7

I n that si mpl e stage of c a p i t a l i s t devel opment , Marx coul d s ee that t her e l e n t l e s s accumul at i ve process woul dp r o l i f e r a t e commodi t i es

Capi t al s c e as e l e s s s t r i v i n g towards t he general formofweal t h d r i ve s l abour beyond t he l i m t s of i t s naturalp a l t r i n e s s ( Naturbedur f t i gkei t ) , and t hus c r e a t e s t hemat eri al el ement s f or t he devel opment of t he r i c h i n-di vi dual i ty whi ch i s as a l l - s i d e d i n i t s product i on as i n i t sconsumpt i on . 2 8

Many other ref erences may be ci ted fromt he Grundrure t o s i m l a r e f f e c t But l l t h i s as sumed that consumer goods were not monopol i zed by brand namesand that workers coul d di spose of t h e i r non- wor k t i me subj ect onl y t o c l a s s andcust omar y i . e t r a d i t i o n a l consi derat i ons I n 1850, t he average meri canworker coul d devote about 42 hours per week 168hours mnus 70hours on t hej ob and 56 hour s of s l e ep t o such cottage i ndust r y type of product i on ofl abour power


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LL SSMYTHEBy 1960, the aver age t i me spent on t he j obwas about 39 5 hours per weekan apparent r educt i on i n work t i me of al most 30 hours per week ( t o whi ch

shoul d beadded2 5 hours as agenerous est i mat e of theweekl y equi val ent ofannual vacat i ons) Capi t al i st apol ogi st s equated t h i s ostensi bl e r educt i on i nwork t ime wth a correspondi ng i ncrease i n f r ee or l ei sure t i me Ther e a l i t y was qui t e di f f erent Two t r ansf ormat i ons were bei ng ef f ected bymonopol y capi t al i sm i n the nat ure of work, l ei sure andconsumer behavi our Ontheonehand, hugechunksof workers t i me were bei ngremoved from hei rdi screti on by the phenomenon of met r opol i t an spr awl and by the nat ure ofunpai dwork whi ch workers were obl i gat ed t o performFor exampl e, i n t hecontemporary per i od travel t i me t o and fromthe j ob can be est i mated at 8 5hours per week moonl i ghti ng empl oyment a t amnmumf onehour perweek repai r work around thehome, at another f ive hours per week ; andmen sworkonhousehol dchores andshoppi ng at another 2 3 hours per week totalof 16 8 hoursper week of theroughl y 32 hours of ti me supposedl y freed as aresul t of capi t al i st i ndustr i al i zat i on i s thus anythi ng but f ree ur t hersevenhours of t he 32 hours of freed t i me di sappear s when the correct i on f orpar t - t i me femle empl oyment i s made i n the reported hour s- per - week 29Three- f our t hs of the so- cal l ed f reed time has t hus vani shed

Thesecond t r ansf ormat i on i nvol ves the pressure pl aced by t he systemon theremi ni nghours of theweek I f sl eepi ng i s est i mated at ei ght hours a day, thereminder of the 168 hours i n the week af t er subt r act i ng sl eepi ng and theunf r ee worktimethus f ar i denti f i ed was42hours i n 1850and49hours i n 1960 W l ack syst emat i c i nf ormat i on about the use of th is f ree time f or bothdates Wdo knowt hat cert ai n t ypes of a c t i v i t i e s werecommont o both dates personal care, maki ng l ove, vi si t i ng wth rel at i ves andf r i ends, prepar i ng andeat i ng meal s, attendi ng uni on, church and other associ at i ve i nst i tut i ons, i n-cl udi ng sal oons Weal so knowt hat i n 1960 ( but not i n 1850) there was a vastarray of brandedconsumer goods and servi ces pressed on theworkers throughadver t i si ng, poi nt - of - sal e di spl ays, and peer group i nf l uence Attendance a tspectat or sports and part i ci pat i on i n such ac t i v i t i es as bowl i ng, campi ng, and pl easur e dr i vi ng of the automobi l e or snowmobi l el l promoted f or thesake of equi pment sal es by the consci ousness i ndust r ynowtake t i me t hatwasdevotedt o non-commerci al acti vi ti es i n 1850 I n-house timemust nowbedevoted t o deci di ng whether or not t o buy andthen t o use ( by whom where,under what condi t i ons, andwhy) an endl ess prol i f erati on of goods f or personalcare, househol d f urni shi ng, cl ot hi ng, msi c r eproduct i on equipment, etc Gui di ng t he worker today i n al l i ncome and t i me expendi t ur es are the mssmedi ahroughthebl endof adver t i sement s andprogrammecontent HowdoBaranandSweezy deal wth theusemade of t h i s i l l usory i ncrease i n

free t i me? Depl oying Vebl en s concept of conspi cuous consumpti on and0


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BLINDSPOTthereby emphasi zi ng t he stat us- seeki ng char act er of workers consumpt i onde ci s i o ns , they t r e a t l e i s u r e t i me ( wi t hout quot at i on mar ks) i n psychoanal yt i ct erms as t i me spent wi l l f u l l y i n p a s s i v i t y andi dl eness

Thi s pr opensi t y t o do not hi ng has had a d e c i s i v e par t i ndet er mni ng t he ki nds of ent er t ai nment whi ch are suppl i edt o f i l l t he l e i s u r e hour si n t he eveni ng, onweekendsandho l i d a ys , dur i ng vacat i ons The ba s i c pri nci pl e i s t hatwhat ever i s pr esent ed r eadi ng matt er , movi es, r adi oandVpr ogr ams must not make undue demands ont he i n t e l l e c t u a l and emot i onal r esour ces of t he r eci pi ent s t he pur pose i s t o pr ovi de f u n , r e l a xa t i on , a good t i me

i n s h o r t , pa s s i v el y absor babl e amusement 30

What i s wrong wi t h t h i s p a r t i a l t r u th i s 1) i t i gnor es t he r el at i onshi p ofmonopol y capi t al i sms Sa l e s E f f o r t , p a r t i c u l a r l y adver t i si ng, t o t he probl emand 2 ) i t substi t ut es casual bourgeoi s obser vat i ons3 f or anh i s t o r i c a l mater i al i stattack on t he probl emAs agai nst t he seven hours per week of appar ent non work t i me gai ned byt he aver age wor ker bet ween 1850 and 1960, howmuch t i me does he nowspenda s part of t he audi ence pr oduct of t he mass medi a t i me sol d t o t he ad-v e r t i s e r s ? Her e t he audi ence- measur ement sub- i ndust r y gi v es us some i n-f ormat i on Davi d Bl ank, economst f o r t he Col umbi a Br oadcast i ng Syst em i n1970 f oundt hat t he aver age per son wat ched TVf or 3 . 3 hours per day ( 23 hoursper week) on an annual ba s i s , l i s t e n e d t o r adi o f or 2 . 5 hour s per day ( 18 hoursper week) , and read newspaper s andmagazi nes one hour per day 7 hour s perweek) 32 I f we l ook a t t he audi ence pr oduct i n t er ms of f a m l i e s rather t han i n-di vi dual s, we f i nd that i n 1973, a dv er t i s er s i n t heS pur chasedVaudi encesf or an average of a l i t t l e more t han 43 hour s per home per week 33 By i ndustr yusage, t h i s l umps t ogether speci al i zed audi ence commodi t i es sol d i n-dependent l y a s housewi ves , chi l dr en and f am l i es I n t he pri met i me eveni ng hours 7 : 00 t o 11 : 00 p m t heVaudi ence commodi ty con-s i s t e d of a d a i l y average of 83 . 8 m l l i o n peopl e, wi t h an average of two per sonsvi ewi ng per home Womenwer e a s i g n i f i c a n t l y l a r ger pr opor t i on of t h i s pr i met i me audi ence t han men ( 42 per cent as agai nst 32 percent , whi l e chi l drenwer e16 per cent and t eenagers, 10 percent ) Wedo not knoweven appr oxi mat el y howt he wor ker s exposur e t o t he massmedi a a r t i c u l a t e s wi t h t he ot her components i n hi s/ her use of f ree t i me I t i sr e l a t i v e l y easy t o determne howmuch radi o l i s t e n i n g and newspaper and


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LL SMYTHEmagazi ne r eadi ng t akes pl ace whi l e t r a v e l l i n g t o and f romwor k But muchTVand r adi o programmng i s at t ended t o i nci dent al l y whi l e engaged i n ot her ac -t i v i t i e s such as performnghousehol d c h o r e s , v i s i t i n g wi t h f r i ends , r eadi ng, andnowevenwhi l e at t endi ng spect at or sports 4Thi s i s t he cont ext i n whi ch wemy pursue t he quest i on, howdemndmnagement bymeans of adver t i si ng i n mnopol y capi t al i smr e l a t e s t o t hel abour t heor y of val ue, t o l ei sure and t o free t i me I t shoul d now bepossi bl e t o obt ai n some c l ues t o t he nat ur e of wor k whi ch workers perform i nr e l a t i o n t o adver t i si ng I f f r eedom i s t he ac t of r e s i s t i n g nec e s s i t y , what i s t henat ur e of t he process by whi ch wor ker s r e a c t t o adver t i si ng, and why i s i tprof i t abl e f or adv er t i s e r s t o adver t i se? nadver t i si ng t h e o r i s t , Professor T NL e v i t t , s a y s , Cust omer s don t buy t hi ngs They buy t o o l s t o sol veprobl em 3S I t appears t hat t hepurpose of adver t i si ng, fromt he per spect i ve oft he adver t i si ng corporat i on, i s t o e s t a b l i s h i n t he worker s consc i ousness 1 ) t heexi st ence of a probl em f aci ng the wor ker a c n e , s e c u r i t y f r om bur g l ar s ,s l e e p l e s s n e s s ) , 2 ) t he exi st ence of a c l a s s of commodi t i es whi ch wi l l s o l v e t hatprobl em and 3) t he mot i vat i on t o gi ve t op p r i o r i t y t o pur chasi ng br andXoft hat c l a s s of commodi t i es i n or der t o sol ve t hat probl em Gi ven t h i ss i t u a t i o n , t he r e a l i s t i c process of audi ence-member s work can be best un-derstood i n term of t he ever - i ncr easi ng number of deci si ons forced onhi mherby new commodi t i es andby t h e i r r el at ed adver t i si ng Unf or t unat el y, whi l eworkers are f aced wi t h ml l i ons of possi bl e compar at i ve choi ces amngt housands of new commodi t i es, t hey l ack s c i e n t i f i c a l l y obj ect i ve bases onwhi ch t o eval uat e e i t he r t he probl emt o be sol ved by buyi ng t he proffered t o ol or t he e f f i c a c y of t he t o ol as a sol ut i on t o t he probl em I n t h i ss i t u a t i o n , t hey const ant l y st r uggl e t o devel op a r a t i ona l shoppi ng l i s t out of ani r r a t i o n a l si t uat i on 3 6 As Li nder put s i t t he most i mpor t ant way by whi chconsumer s can copewi t h commodi t i es and adver t i si ng i s t o l i m t t he t i me spenti n t hi nki ngabout what t o buy

Reduced t i me f or r e f l e c t i o n previ ous t o a deci si on woul dappar ent l y e n t a i l a gr owi ng i r r a t i o n a l i t y However , si nce i ti s ext r emel y r a t i ona l t o consi der l e s s and l e s s per deci si onthere e x i s t s a rat i onal e of i r r a t i o n a l i t y 7

onopol yc a p i t a l i s t mar ket i ng p r a c t i c e has a s o r t of s e i s m c , systemc d r i f tt owar ds i mpul se pur chasi ng I nc reas ingl y, the work done by audi encemembers i s cued t owar ds i mpul se pur chasi ng Agai n, Li nder i s i nsi ght f ul 2


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LINDSPOTTo begi n wi t h adver t i si ng i s a means of maki ng factualknow edge more ac ces s i b l e than ot her w se Second i ts e r v e s t o pr ovi de quasi i nf or mat i on f or peopl e who l ackt i me t o acqui r e t he genui ne i n s i g h t s They get t hesurrogate i nf or mat i on t hey want to have i n or der t o f e e lthat t hey ar emaki ngt he r i ght deci si ons The a dv er t i s e rhel ps t o c l o s e t he i nf or mati on gap at t he same t i me expl oi t i ng t he i nf or mati ongapthat i s boundt o r emai n 8As t he s c a r c i t y of t i me i n c r e as e s t he emphas i s i n adv e r t i s i n g w i l l be di spl aced i n t he d i r e c t i o n of e r s a t z i nf or mat i on The obj ect w i l l be t o pr ovi de a mot i ve f or anac t i on f or whi ch no s o l i d gr ounds ex i s t Brand l o y a l t ymust be b u i l t upamongpeopl ewhohave no p o s s i b i l i t y ofdeci di ng how t o ac t on obj ect i ve gr ounds As r out i nepur chasi ng pr ocedur es gai n i n i mpor t ance as a means ofr educi ng deci s i on maki ng t i me i t w i l l become i ncr easi ngl y i mpor t ant t o capture those who have not yetdevel oped t h e i r r out i nes 9

I n t h i s connect i on t he newand sophi st i cated i n t e r e s t of mar ket researchers i nt he r el ati onshi p of adver t i si ng t o chi l dr en s ver y s i g ni f i c ant Accor di ng t o t hepubl i sher of oner ecent study As t he aut hor s see t consumpt i on s a p e r f e c t l y l egi t i mateand unavoi dabl e a c t i v i t y f or chi l dr en Consequent l y t heyr e j ec t as t r a t e g y di r ect ed at pr ot ect i ng ki ds f r o mmar ket i ngst i mul i What s necessar y t hen i s t o acknow edge thatchi l dr en ar e goi ng t o wat ch t e l e v i s i o n commer ci al s and t oprepare themt obe s e l e c t i v e consumer s whi l dren Learn touy pr ovi des evi dence t o conf r ont

e x i s t i n g t heor i es i n t he emer gi ng f i e l d of consumers o c i a l i z a t i o n The work i s e s s ent i a l t o ever yone concer nedwi t h t he e f f e c t s of adver t i si ng sponsor s ad a ge nc i e s t het e l e v i s i o n i ndus t r y educators gover nment al r egul ator sconsumer r e s e a r c h e r s and par ent s 4

Const r ai ned by t he i deol ogy of monopol y capi tal i sm t he bourgeoi s not i on off ree t i me and l e i s u r e i s onl y ava i l ab l e t o those whohave no di sposabl e i ncome


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LL SMYTHE( and f o r whom t s of c o u r s e , a b i t t e r mocker y) and t o those whoare so r i c ht h a t , as Li nder sa y s , f or t hem t he ul t i mat e l uxur y s t o be l i berat ed fromt hehar dshi ps of havi ng t odo one s ownbuyi ng 41 For ever yone el s e, f ree t i meand l ei sure bel ong onl y i n t he monopol y c a p i t a l i s t l exi con al ongsi de f reewor l d , f ree ent erpr i se , f ree el ect i ons , f ree speech , and f ree f l owof i nf ormat i on hat has happened t o t he t i me workers spend of f - t he- j ob whi l e not sl eepi ngi s t hat enormous pressures on t h i s t i me have been i mposed by l l consumergoods and s er v i c e branches of monopol y capi t al i sm I ndi vi dual , f a m l i a l andot her a s s o c i a t i v e needs must bedeal t w th, but i n a r e a l cont ext of pr oduct s andadver t i si ng whi ch, t aken t oget her , make t he task of t he i ndi vi dual and f am l ybas i c a l l y one of copi ng whi l e bei ng const ant l y on t he ver ge of bei ng over-whel md by these pressures I n t h i s cont ext , t he workof t he audi encemmerswhi ch a dv er t i s er s f i nd pr oduct i ve f or them s one of l ear ni ng cues whi ch areused when t he audi ence mmber makes up hi s/ her ment al shoppi ng l i s t andspends hi s/ her i ncome

g ) Does t he audi ence commodi ty perform an es s en t i a l econom c f unct i on?Bar an and Sweezy s t a t e that adver t i si ng const i t ut es as muchan i n t e g r a l part oft he system as t he gi ant cor porat i on i t s e l f 42 and t hat adver t i si ng has t ur nedi n to an i ndi spensabl e t o o l f o r a l arge s e c t o r of cor porat e busi ness 4 I n t h i st hey go as f a r as Gal br ai t h who s a i d t he margi nal u t i l i t y of presentaggr egat e out put , ex- advert i si ngand sal esmanshi p i s zero 44But i s t he pr oduct i on and consumpt i on of t he audi ence commodi ty f oradver t i ser s a product i ve a c t i v i t y i n Marxi an t erms? Bar an and Sweezy a r econt r adi ct ory i n answer i ng t h i s quest i on hey t e l l us t hat adver t i si ng expenses s i n c e t hey a r e mani f est l y unr el at ed t o necessary c o s t s of product i on however br oadl y def i ned t h e y ) can onl y be count ed as part of aggr egat esurpl us 4S But a f t e r som agoni zi ng over whet her f i nance, i nsurance and r e a le s t a t e ( whi ch account f or about t w c e t he vol ume of nat i onal i ncome asr epresent ed by adver t i si ng) a r e product i ve, t hey abandon t hei r t heoret i calf oot i ng f or r e j e c t i n g expenses of ci rcul at i on as unproduct i ve of sur pl us

J ust as adver t i si ng, product d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , a r t i f i c i a lobsol escence, mode changi ng, and al l t he ot her devi ces oft he s a l es ef f o r t do i n f ac t promoteand i ncrease s al es , andt hus ac t as i ndi spensabl e props t o t he l ev el of i ncome andempl oyment , so t he e n t i r e appar at us of ` f i na nc e, i n-surance, and r ea l es t a t e i s es s en t i a l t o t he nor mal f unc-t i oni ng of t he cor por at e system and anot her no l es s i n-di spensabl e prop t o t he l ev el of i ncome andeml oymnt

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BLINDSPOTThe pr odi gi ous vol ume of resources absor bed i n a l l thesea c t i v i t i e s does i n f a c t const i t ut e necessary c o s t s of c a p i t a l i s tpr oduct i on What shoul d be c r y s t a l c l e a r t hat aneconomc system i n whi ch such c o s t s a r e s o c i a l l y necessaryhas l ong ceased t obea s o c i a l l y necessary system

I amawar e t hat Capi t al can be and has been read f r equent l y as denyi ng t heproduct i vi t y of t he expenses of mddl emen i n general As r ead t he wor k,however , t seems t o me t hat i n Capi t al Mar x was concerned t o anal yze t heoperat i on of capi t al i smunder t he then r e a l i s t i c condi t i ons of compet i t i on andt he or gani zat i on of i ndust ry a s bei ng gener al l y uni nt egr at ed f r omr awmater i alpr ocessi ng t hrough exchange t o t he consumpt i on process 7 Marx a l s o c l e a r l ydi d not as sume t he predomnance of br anded commodi t i es or t he pr eval ence ofadvert i s i ng I f one t ur ns t o Mar x s I nt r oduct i on t o t he Cri t i que of P o l i t i c a lEconomy however , t seems pr obabl e t hat hi s a n a l y s i s of monopol ycapi t al i sm had such been possi bl e i n h i s t i me, woul d have answer ed t hequest i on of t he product i vi t y of advert i s i ng d i f f e r e n t l y I ndeed t he f o l l owngpassage accommodat es t he phenomena of a dv er t i s i n g, br anded mer chandi se,and monopol y capi t al i smi nmanagi ngdemands

Consumpti on pr oduces pr oduct i on i n a doubl e way because consumpt i on c r e a t e s t he need f or newpr oduct i on,t hat i s i t c r e a t e s t he i d e a l , i n t e r n a l l y i mpel l i ng cause f orpr oduct i on, whi ch t pr esupposi t i on Consumpti onc r e a t e s t he mot i ve f o r pr oduct i on t a l s o c r e a t e s t he obj ectwhi ch a c t i v e i n pr oduct i on a s t det ermnant ai m No pr oduct i on w t hout a need But consumpt i onreproduces t he need Pr oduct i on not onl y suppl i es amater i al f o r t he need, but i t a l s o suppl i es a need f or t hemater i al As soon as consumpt i on emer ges from t s i n i t i a ls t a t e of nat ur al cr udi t y and i mmedi acy and, i f tr emai ned a t t hat s t a g e , t h i s woul d be because pr oduct i oni t s e l f had been a r r e s t e d there t becomes i t s e l f medi at eda s adr i ve by t he obj ect Theneedwhi ch consumpt i on f e e l sf or t he obj ect created by t he percept i on of i t The obj ectof a r t l i k e every ot her product c r e a t e s apubl i c whi ch s e n s i t i v e t o ar t and enj oys beaut y Pr oduct i on thus notonl y c r e a t e s an obj ect f or t he s u b j e c t , but a l s o a subj ect f o rt he obj ec t Thus pr oduct i on pr oduces consumpt i on 1 by

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D LL SI SMYTHEcreat i ng t he mat er i al f or i t 2 by det er m ni ng t he mannerof consumpt i on and 3 by c reat i ng t he pr oduct s i n i t i a l l yposi t edby i t as ob j e ct s , i n t he formof a needf e l t by t heconsumer I t t huspr oduces t he obj ect of consumpt i on, t hemanner of consumpt i on andt he mot i ve of consumpt i on Consumpti on l i kewi se pr oduces t he pr oducer s i ncl i nat i onby beckoni ng t o himas anai m det er m ni ng need 8I t i s c l ea r , f i r s t l y , that t he exchange of a c t i v i t i e s anda b i l i t i e s whi ch t akes pl ace wi t hi n pr oduct i on i t s e l f bel ongsd i r e c t l y t o pr oduct i on and e s s e n t i a l l y const i t ut es i t Thesame hol ds, secondl y, f or t he exchange of pr oduct s, i n sof a r a s t hat exchange i s t he means of f i ni shi ng t he pr oductand maki ng i t f i t f or di r e c t consumpt i on To that e x t e n t ,exchange i s an a c t compr i sed wi t hi n pr oduc t i on i t s e l f Thi r dl y, t he s o- c a l l e d exchange bet ween deal ers anddeal ers i s by i t s very or gani zat i on e n t i r e l y det e rm ned bypr oduct i on, a s bei ng i t s e l f a pr oduci ng a c t i v i t y Exchangeappear s as i ndependent and i ndi f f er ent t o pr oduct i on onl yi n t he f i n a l phase wher e t he pr oduct i s exchanged d i r e c t l yf or consumpt i on

Onsuch a f oot i ng i t i s possi bl e t o devel opaMar xi st theory of adver t i si ng andof br anded commodi t i es under monopol y c a p i t a l i s t condi t i ons When t hepr esi dent of t he Revl on cor por at i on s a y s Wemanuf act ur e l i p s t i c k s But wes e l l hope , he i s r e f e r r i n g t o t he creat i on of pr oduct s i n i t i a l l y posi t ed by i t a sobj ect s i n t he formof a need f e l t by t he consumer s i m l a r l y wi t h Cont ac- C,t he pr opr i et ar y col d remedy whi ch s o di st ur bed Bar an and Sweezy s u Thedeni al of t he pr oduct i vi t y of adver t i si ng i s unnecessary and di versi onary a culde s a c der i ved from t he pr e- monopol y- capi t al i st st age of devel opment , adut i f ul but unsuccessf ul and i nappr opr i at e at t empt at r econc i l i at i on wi t hCapi t al h Whyhave Mar xi st econom st s been i ndi f f er ent t o t he h i s t o r i c a l pr ocessby whi ch advert i si ng, br and- name mer chandi se, and t he mass medi a ofcommuni ca t i ons have devel oped i n monopol y capi t al i smover t he past cent ur y?Whydo they cont i nue t o regard t he p r e s s , TVand r adi o medi a a s havi ng t hepr i me f unct i on of pr oduci ng news, ent er t ai nment and e d i t o r i a l opi ni on andnot audi ences f or s a l e t o a dv er t i s e r s ? The evi dence f or t he l a t t e r i s a l l ar ound us Bar an and Sweezy do i ndeed i ndi cat e howmuch adver t i si ng has grown andwhen, i . e by a f ac tor of t en bet ween 1890 and 1929 But not why, howandwi t hwhat connect i ons

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BLINDSPOTI n the f i r s t three quarters of the ni neteent h cent ury, newspapers andmagazi nes i n the count r i es goi ng through t he I ndust ri al Revol uti on werechar act er i zed by a di versi ty of support as between readers payments,subsi di es frompol i t i cal part i es, and adver t i si ng most of the l att er bei ng i n-

formati on about commodi ty avai l abi l i ty and pri ces and not about brandedmerchandi se ; and b) a cycl i cal process of t echnol ogi cal i mprovement wthconsequent l ar ger pr i nt i ng capaci t y, l ower uni t c o s t s , l ower uni t pri ces ofpubl i cat i ons, l ar ger p r o f i t s , capi t al accumul ati onandr ei nvest ment i n newandmore producti ve pl ant s, etc 52 I n t hat per i od, marketi ngof consumer goodswaschar act er i zed by a predomnance of unbrandedmerchandi se b uni n-tegrated di str i but i on of commodi ti es wth t he mddl eman bei ng t he mostpowerful l i nk i n theproducti on- to-consumer chai n and c consequent l y, l ackof massi veadver t i si ng as ameansof managi ngdemand

I n the second hal f of the ni neteent h century, capi tal i sm f aced a c r i s i s Thef i r s t stage of t he devel opment of the factory system under condi t i ons ofcompeti t i on between rel at i vel y smal l capi tal i sts had succeeded i n mobi l i zi ngl abour suppl y and expl oi t i ng i t crudel y under condi t i ons documented so abl yby Marx i n Capi t al The very success of t he system bred grave threats t o i t Pol i t i cal l y consci ous l abour uni ons posedr evol ut i onar y threats t o capi t al i sm53Moreover, capi tal i st manufacturers were vul ner abl e t o thepower of theworkersbecause the hi ghl y ski l l ed worker s possessed more know edge about theproducti on process than di d t hei r empl oyers 5 Manufacturers were t husbl ocked fromready cont r ol of t hei r work force and fromi nnovat i ng the newandi ncreasi ngl y sophi st i cat ed machi ne processes of mass producti onwhi chtherapi d progress i n physi cal sci ences and engi neer i ng made possi bl e When t heyl ooked at t hei r marketi ngmethods, manuf act ur er s were al so beset by chr oni ci nsecur i t i es The per i odi c busi ness cycl es i n t hei r c r i s i s and l i qui dat i on phasesforced manufacturers into cut - t hroat pr i ci ng of unbranded merchandi se,typi cal l y) becauseof the pressure of overhead costs The resul t was a short l i f eexpect ancy f or compet i t i ve i ndustr i al i sts

I n sum awatershed i n thedevel opment of capi t al i smhadbeen reached AsM Kni ght sai d, ownt o the l a s t quarter of the ni neteent h cent ur y,commerce domnatedi ndust r y ; after i t i ndust r y domnatedcommerce 55Capi t al i sms sys t emc sol ut i on t o the cont r adi cti on between i t s enormouspot ent i al f or expandi ng pr oduct i on of consumer goods and t he prof i ts t o bet hus r eal i zed) and t he systemc i nsecur i t i es posed by peopl e as worker s andpeopl e as consumers was t o move t o l arge scal e rat i onal i zat i on of i ndust ri alor gani zat i on t hr ough v e r t i c a l , hor i zont al and congl omerate i nt egr at i on) 5 sThi s conf er r ed cont r ol over suppl i es andpri ces i n t he factor mar ket s, andi n t hemarketi ng of endpr oduct s But t o make such gi ant i nt egr at ed cor por at i onsvi abl e, t hei r oper ati ons had t o address di rect l y the probl emof peopl e 1 a sworkers a t the j obwhere t hey were pai d, and 2 as buyer s of t he end prod-

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LL SMYTHEu c t s of i ndust r y The systemc sol ut i on was a t ext book exampl e of t het r ansf ormat i on of a cont r adi ct i on on t he pr i nc i pl e one goes i n t o two Thi swas an i deol ogi cal t a s k and i t was sol ved by capi t al i z i ng on t he deepl y hel di deol ogi cal reverence f o r s c i e n t i f i c r a t i o n a l i t y i n t he pur sui t of possessi ve i n -d i v i d u a l i s t i c mat er i al goal s Af t er m l i t a n t uni ons had been crushed by f o r ce bet ween 1890 and 1910s c i e n t i f i c management was appl i ed t o peopl e as wor ker s Knowedgeabout t hework process was expr opr i at ed f r o m s k i l l e d wor ker s t o management Theworkprocess was reduced t o l adder s of dead- end tasks t o compl ement whi chever more sophi st i cat ed generat i ons of mas s pr oduct i on machi nes wer e i n -novat ed And t hr ough v a r i e t i e s of i ncent i ve wage pl ans, l i nked w t hpr omot i on- f r om- w t hi n on t he bas i s of s e n i o r i t y , suppor t ed by companywel f ar e pl ans (and l a t e r s oc i a l i nsur ance t hr ough gover nment ) , t he wor kpl acewher e peopl e got pai d was t r ansf ormed i deol ogi cal l y s Peopl e l ear ned theret hat work under monopol y capi t al i sm i nvol ves compet i t i on bet ween i n -di vi dual s whosepossessi ve needs n e ce ss ar i l y s e t them n c o n f l i c t w t h each ot herrather t han w t h t he owner s of t he means of t h e i r ( conceal ed) cooperat i vepr oduct i on The c a r r o t whi ch sys tem cal l y mot i vat ed themwas t he pur sui t ofcommodi t i es, whi ch j oi ned t h i s hal f of t he i deol ogi cal e xe r c i s e w t h t he next

Si mul t aneousl y t he sys t em deal t w t h i t s probl emof peopl e as buyer s of endpr oduct s As on t he j ob f r o n t , sci ence was i nvoked The obj ecti ve was per sonals a t i s f a c t i o n , and t he rat i onal e was e f f i c i e n c y The t e rm consumer was i n-vent ed t o descr i be t he desi r ed obj ect Adver t i s i ng and t he creat i on of mas spr oduced communi cat i ons p r e s s , r adi o andTVp r i n c i p a l l y wer e devel oped ast he speci al i zed means t o t h i s systemc end Even i f a seem ng over-pr oduct i on of cons umer goods t hr eat ened t he p r o f i t a b i l i t y of an i ndust r y t hea b i l i t y of a company t o di s t i ngui sh i t s products f romunbranded s i m l a rpr oduct s al l owed i t s s a l e s and p r o f i t s t o growi n s ec ur i t y I f s tudi es are donehave been abl e t o l o c a t e noneof t he hi s tory of br and names , i t wi l l befoundt hat t h i s was howbr and name l o y a l t y becamean e ss e nt i a l weapon i n i ndust r ywhen t he t r u s t s whi ch pr oduced t he pr esent o l i g o p o l i s t i c empi r es of monopol yc a p i t a l i s t i ndust r y became domnant f e a t u r e s of t he i n dus t r i a l l andscape Cer t ai nl y t he Bar an and Sweezy t h es i s t hat monopol y capi t al i sm managesdemand through mar ket cont r ol s and adver t i s i ng woul d seemt o c a r r y as i t sc o r o l l a r y t he hypot hesi s t hat somet hi ng l i k e t he suct i on of commodi t i es fromt he mat er i al pr oduct i on l i n e t o t he o l i g o p o l i s t i c endpr oduct market s hasr epl aced t he at om s t i c c i r c u l a t i o n of commodi t i es t y p i c al of Mar x s t i me as t hemodel of monopol y c a p i t a l i s t mar ket i ng Whi l e hi s t o r i c al schol ar shi p i nmar ket i ng seems conspi cuousl y undevel oped, f r agment ar y evi dence froms t u di e s of mar ket i ng h i s t o r y tend t o conf i rm t he out l i ne of t he pr ocess heresket ched s e


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BLINDSPOTFor exampl e, J oseph Palamountai n s a y s , Great i ncr eases i n the s i z e of

manufacturers or r e t a i l e r s have changedmuch of the di s t r i but i on froma f l o wthrough a s e r i e s of l argel y autonomous markets t o a s i ngl e movementdomnated by ei t her manufacturer or r e t a i l e r . 59 Si mul t aneousl y, thenewspaper andmagazi ne i ndustr i es found t hemsel ves i n a posi t i on t o vastl y i n-crease t he producti vi t y of t he pr i nt i ng trades i n t he l a s t quart er of the ni ne-teenth century Techni cal advances i n t ypeset t i ng, pr i nt i ng i nc l udi ng col our) ,photographi c r epr oduct i on, et c coul dbe f i nanced i f someonewoul d f oot theb i l l The newspaper and magazi ne ent r epr eneur s t he Wl l i amRandol phHear st s and t hei r r i v a l s i nvent ed t he yel l ow j ournal i sm which t ook ad-vantage of t h i s s i tuat i on The cycl e of capi t al expansi onensued i n accel er at edspeedandscope Pr oduct i on andc i rcul at i on were mul t i pl i ed, whi l epr i ces pai dby t he readers were hel d c ons t a nt or decreased nd t he mass medi acharact eri st i c of monopol y capi t a l i s mwere created i n t he 1890 s I t was thesemass medi a, i ncreasi ngl y f i nanced by advert i si ng, that drew t oget her themel ti ng pot worki ng c l as s fromdi ver se et hni c groups whi ch were f l oodi ngi n as mgrants t o theUni ted States i nt o sal eabl e audi ences f or t he advert i sers . bo

Theadvent of r adi o- t el ephony i n t he f i r s t twodecades of t h i s century madepossi bl e the use of the same pr i nc i pl e whi ch had been proven i n t he pri ntmedi a nds o commerci al radi o br oadcast i ng became a systemc i nnovat i on of ,by, and f or monopol y capi t a l i s m When the pent-up c i v i l i a n demand at t heend of Worl dWar I I , and the gener ous capi t al subvent i ons of a governmenti nt ent onwnni ng t hat war hadprovi ded el ectr oni cs manufacturers w t h shel l -l oadi ng andot her war pl ant s easi l y convert i bl e i nt o TVset manuf act ur i ng, andwhen a compl ai sant F coul d be mani pul ated i n t o f avour i ng TVover FMbr oadcast i ng, b1 TVwas approved and l argel y f i nanced out of capi t al ac -cumul atedfromcommerci al r a di o br oadcast i ng s prof i t s zWhywas t h i s medi a compl ex rather than some ot her mode of marketi ng

devel opedbymonopol y capi t al i s mt o create andcontrol consumers ? Because t offered acheaper andmore ef f i ci ent mode of demand management than t heal t er nat i ves whi chcoul dbe devi sed What al t ernat i ves? Theobvi ous al t ernat i vewas more of t he same methods pr evi ousl y used i n marketi ng heavi errel i ance on t r avel l i ng sal esmen t o push goods t o r e t a i l e r s , heavi er use of door-t o- door sal esmen To cal cul at e the opportuni ty cost w t h a hypot het i calel abor at i on of a marketi ng system desi gned t o s e l l branded commodi ti eswthout advert i si ng was and s a horrendous pr ospect Moreover, t woul d bepoi nt l ess because mass producti on of br anded) consumer goods and ser vi cesunder capi t al i smwoul dnot have happened absent advert i s i ng ni ndi cat i onof t he ef f i ci ency of t he audi ence commodi ty as a producers good used i n t heproducti on of consumer goods and a cl ue t o a possi bl e measure of sur pl usval ue created by peopl e worki ng i n audi ences) i s pr ovi ded when we compare

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D LL S SMYTHadver t i s i ng expendi t ur es w t h val ue added by r e t a i l i n g of consumer goodsand s e r v i c e s I n 1973 i n t he U S some 25 b i l l i o n was spent i n adver t i s i ngwhi l e per sonal consumpt i on expendi t ur es wer e about 8 b i l l i o n Thr eeper cent of t he s al es p r i c e as t he c o s t of cr eat i ng and managi ngdemand seemvery cheap and pr of i t abl e The systema l s o accr ued val uabl e s i de- benef i t s I nst i t ut i onal adver t i s i ng and t he mer chandi s i ng of p o l i t i c a l candi dat es andi deol ogi cal poi nt s of vi ew i n t he gui se of t he f r ee l unch and adver t i s i ngmess ages wer e onl y appr eci at ed and expl oi t ed syst emati cal l y a f t e r Worl dWar Iwhenpr opaganda and i t s associ ated publ i c opi ni on pol l i ng wer e devel oped f orwar pr omot i on pur poses

To summari ze t he mass medi a i n s t i t u t i o n s i n monopol y capi t al i smdevel oped t he equi pment , worker s and or gani zat i on t o pr oduce audi ences f ort he pur poses of t he systembet ween about 1875 and 1950 The pr i me pur poseof t he mass medi a compl ex i s t o pr oduce peopl e i n audi ences who work atl ear ni ng t he t heor y and p r a c t i c e of consumer shi p f or c i v i l i a n goods andwhosuppor t ( w t h t a x e s and v o t e s t he ml i t ar y demand management system Thesecond pr i nci pal pur pose i s t o pr oduce audi ences whose theory and p r a c t i c econf i r m t he i deol ogy of monopol y capi t al i sm( possessi ve i ndi vi dual i smi n anaut hor i t ar i an p o l i t i c a l system The thi rd pr i nci pal pur pose t o pr oduce publ i copi ni on suppor t i ve of t he s t r a t e g i c and t a c t i c a l p o l i c i e s of t he s t a t e e . g pr esi dent i al candi dat es, suppor t of I ndochi nese ml i t a r y advent ur es, space r a c e ,detente w t h t he Sovi et Uni on, r appr ochement w t h Chi na and et hni c andyout h di s s e nt Necessari l y i n t he monopol y c a p i t a l i s t system t he four thpur pose of t he mass medi a compl ex t o operate i t s e l f so prof i t abl y as t o ensureunr i val l ed r espect f or i t s economc i mpor t ance i n t he system t has been qui t esuccess f ul i n achi evi ng l l f our pur poses

I f we r ecogni ze t he r e a l i t y of monopol y capi t al i sm buyi ng audi ences t ocompl et e t he mass mar ket i ng of mass pr oduced consumer goods and s er v i c esmuch further ana l y s i s needed of t he i mpl i cat i ons of t h i s pr i nci pal anddeci si ve i nt egr at i on of superstructure and base whi ch r e a l i t y presents F i r s t ,t he cont r adi ct i ons pr oduced w t hi n t he audi ence commodi ty shoul d be un-derstood more c l e a r l y I r e f e r t o t he cont r adi ct i on as bet ween audi encemembers ser vi ng as pr oducer s' goods i n t he mar ket i ng of mass pr oducedcons umer goods and t h e i r wor k i n pr oduci ng and r epr oduci ng l abour power It hi nk t hat t he consci ousness i ndust r y t hr ough adver t i s i ng- suppor t ed massmedi a pr oduces t hr ee ki nds of al i enat i on f or t he members of t he audi encecommodi ty 1 al i enat i on fromt he r e s ul t of t h e i r work ont he j ob 2al i enat i on from t he commodi t i es- i n- gener al whi ch t hey par t i ci pat e i nmar ket i ng t o t hemel ves ; and 3 al i enat i on f r om t he l abour power t heypr oduce and r epr oduce i n t hemel ves and t h e i r chi l dr en t woul d seemt hatt he theory of work needs r econsi der at i on

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LINDSPOTThen connect i ons t o other a r e a s need t o be examned mong such con-nect i ons there com t o mnd those t o Marxi st theory about s o c i al consci ousness

and f a l s e consci ousness) , t o theory about t he nature of t he c l as s s t r u ggl e , t henature of t he pr o l e t a r i a t under monopo y capi ta l i smand s ex chauvi ni sm andt o t he o r i e s of t he s t a t e The l as t of these seems obvi ous i f t h i s an al y s i s i s con-si der ed i n connect i on w t h t he recent a r t i c l e s by Gol d, Lo, and Wi ght 6 Ther o l e of t he mass medi a and t he consci ousness i ndust r y i n pr oduci ng t heaudi ence commodi ty both as commodi t y- i n- general and pecul i ar commodi tym ght provi de t he r e a l si news t o t he str uctural - Mar xi st mode of t he s t a t e ofPoul ant zas and t o t he t he o r e t i c a l i n i t i a t i v e s of Cl aus Of f e i n seeki ng t heprocesses w t h i n t he s t a t e whi ch guar antee i t s c l as s character The con-nect i on t o t he work of de Bord 64 r egardi ng consci ousness proxi mat e Ther e l a t i o n of i n d u s t r i a l l y pr oduced i mages t o t he r eal wor l d of n u t r i t i o n ,cl ot hi ng, housi ng, bi r th and death d i a l e c t i c a l Themass medi a are the f ocusof product i on of i mages of popul ar cul t ure under monopo y capi tal i sm bot ht hr ough t he e x p l i c i t adver t i si ng and t he f ree l unch whi ch hook and hol dpeopl e i n audi ences Because t he consci ousness i ndust r y pr oduces consumabl e,s al e a bl e s pe c t a c l e s , i t s pr oduct t r e a t s both past and future l i k e t he present asbl ended i n t he e t e r n a l present of a systemwhi ch was never created and wi l lnever end The s o c i e t y of t he s pe c t a c l e , however , cannot be a bs t r a c t l y con-t r a s t e d w t h t he r eal wor l d of actual peopl e and t hi ngs The two i nt er a c t The s pe c t a c l e i n v e r t s t he r e a l and i t s e l f pr oduced and i s r e a l Hence, as deBord s a y s , obj ecti ve r e a l i t y i s present on both s i des But because t he s oc i e t y oft he s pe c t a c l e a systemwhi ch st ands t he wor l d r e a l l y on i t s head, t he t r ut h i n i ti s amomnt of t he f a l s e Because t he spect acl e monopol i zes t he power t o mkemass appearance, t demnds and get s passi ve acceptance by t he r eal wor l d nd because i t undeni abl y r e a l a s wel l as f al s e) i t has t he per suasi ve power oft he most e f f e c t i v e pr opaganda 65

F i n a l l y , anot her exampl e of necessary connect i ons i s t h a t t o the t heory ofi mper i al i smand soci al i sm i n t he present stage of monopo y capi t al i sm Ther ear e mny ways by whi ch a theory of commodi ty product i on t hr ough masscommuni cat i ons woul d st r engt hen t he a nal y s i s , f o r exampl e, of Sam r mn 66The cocacol oni sat i on of t he dependent and peri phera l countr i es cannot begr ounded i n Marxi st theory w t hout at t ent i on t o t he product i on of audi encecommodi t i es i n t he i nt er e s t of mul t i - nat i onal cor por ati ons I t woul d l i n kAmn s theory t o Herber t S c h i l l e r s work on t he r e l a t i o n of t he mass medi a t ot he Amer i can empi r e 6 7 And when l i nked w t h ana l y s i s of t he i deol ogi calaspects of s c i e n c e and t echnol ogy , t coul d st r engt hen t he devel opment of anon- econom st i c, non- posi t i ve, non- Eur ocent ered Marxi sm Anal ysi s of suchconnect i ons i s i nvi t i ngbut beyond t he scope of t he present essay Commni cati onSt udi esSmon Fraser Uni ver si t y

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LL SMYTHENot es

1 To demonst r ate t hi s i n det ai l woul d r equi r e a l engthy a na l y s i s whi ch woul d def l ect t hepresent a r t i c l e f r om i t s af f i rmati ve pur pose Gramsci , t he Frankf ur t School wri ters ( Ador no,Horkhei mer , Mar cuse, Lowenthal ) , RaymondW l l i ams, Poul ant zas, Al t husser , and Marxi stsconcerned w th the pr obl ems of devel opi ng nat i ons e . g Sam r Amn, Cl i veY Thomasnone of themaddress the consci ousness i ndustr y from t he st andpoi nt of i t s h i s t o r i c a lmat er i al i s t r ol e i n maki ng monopol y c a p i t a l i s t i mperi al i sm f uncti on through demandmanagement ( concretel y through t he econom c processes of advert i si ng and mass communi cat i ons) Thi s i s p r e c i s e l y t he bl i ndspot of r ecent West er n Marxi sm I n t he devel opi ngdebate i t woul d be usef ul t o have studi es beari ng on whet her andwhy such wr i t e r s have o rhave not deal t w t h t h i s aspect of monopol y capi tal i sm Real i ty i mposes a bur den of proof onthems we l l as onme

2 Leni n hel d a mani pul ati ve theory of t he mass medi a and admtted nai vete i n t h i s respectWhat was t he f a t e of t he decree establ i shi ng a s t at e monopol y of pri vate advert i si ng i ssuedi n t he f i r s t weeks of t he Sovi et gover nment? I t i s amusi ng t o thi nk hownai ve we were The enemy i . e t he c a p i t a l i s t c l as s , r et al i a t ed t o t h i s decr ee of t he s t a t e power bycompl etel y r epudi at i ng that s t a t e power . Repor t on t he NewEconomc Pol i cy , SeventhMoscowGuberni a Conf erence of t he Russi an Communi st Party, Oct ober 21, 1921, i n Leni nAbout t he P r e s s , Pr ague, I nternati onal Organi zati on of j o u r n a l i s t s , 1972, p 203 Leni n' sI mperi al i smi s devoi d of r ecogni t i on of the rel ati on of adver ti si ng t o monopol ycapi tal i smandi mperi al i sm

3 TheMndManagers Bost on, Beacon P r e s s , 1973

4 For a Po l i t i c al Economyof Mass Communi cati ons , The S o c i a l i s t Regi ster , 1973

5 Sage Publ i cati ons, Bever l y H i l l s

6

Cf Fi nkel stei n, Si dney, Sense andNonsense ofMcLuhan NY I nternat i onal Publ i shers,1968 Theal l , Donal d, The Medi umi s t he Rear Vi ewM rror , Montr eal , McGi l l / Queen' sUni versi ty P r e s s , 1971 ; andmy r evi ewof t he l a t t e r i n Queen' s Quart er l y, Summer 1971

7 I ami ndebted t o Prof essor W l l i am L i v ant , Uni versi ty of Regi na, f o r much hard c r i t i c i s mwhi ch he f ormul ated i n a cri ti que of adraf t of t h i s paper i n December , 1975

8 The obj ecti ve r e a l i t y i s that the ostensi bl e advert i sements and the mater i al whi ch comesbet ween them whet her i n t he pri nt o r e l e c t r on i c medi a, have a common pur pose ofproduci ng the audi ence I t i s an i n t e r e s t i n g consequence of the i d e a l i s t perspecti ve that i nmost l i b e r a l anal ysi s t he adver t i si ng i s consi der ed t o be separate from t he news ,enter t ai nment , educat i onal mater i al whi ch i s i nterl arded between the advert i sements

9 Theannual c o s t t o audi ence members of pr ovi di ng t h e i r own broadcast r e c e i v e r s ( and payi ngf o r Cabl e TV) , consi sti ng of depreci at i on, i nt e r e s t on i nvestment , mai ntenance and e l e c t r i cpower , amounted t o s l i g h t l y more than 1 . 8 b i l l i o n , whi l e the over- the- ai r broadcasters'( Canadi an Broadcast i ng Cor por ati on pl us pr i vate broadcasters) and Cabl e TVoperators' c o s t swere about 631 m l l i on 2 2


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10 OnCont r adi cti ons Sel ect ed Works ofMao Tre- Tung Vol 1, Peki ng For ei gn LanguagesP r e s s , 1967 p 336 Emphas i s added

11 NewYork Monthl yRevi ewP r e s s , 1966

12 TheNewndustrradState Bost on HoughtonM f f l i n 1967

13 Chamber l i n E.H The Theor y of Monopol i st i c Compet i t i on Cambr i dge Mass 1931

14 Monopol y Capi ta l i sm p 116

BLINDSPOT

15 I t i s ar gued by one of m c r i t i c s t hat a better t e rm f o r what a dv er t i s e r s buywoul d be at -t ent i on At our present nai ve stage concer ni ng t he mat t er i t does seemas i f att enti on i si ndeed what i s bought But wher e peopl e ar e pai d f or wor ki ng on t he j o b, shoul d Mar xi st s s ayt hat what t he empl oyer buys i s l abour power or t he manual dex t e r i t y and at tent i onnecessary f or t endi ng machi nes ? Where I r e f e r t o audi ences as bei ng pr oduced purchasedandused l et i t beunder st ood t hat I mean audi ence- power ; however i t may turn out uponf ur t her r e a l i s t i c a na l y s i s t o be e xe r c i s e d

16 The pages of Vari et y report on c a s e s wher e t he ost ensi bl y non- adver t i si ng mat t er i n t hemedi a whi ch I c al l t he f r ee l unch a t t r a c t e d an audi ence whi ch had pr opensi t i es i n-congr uous w t h t he part i cul ar pr oduct or s er v i c e bei ng adver t i sed; i n s uch c a s e s t he pr ogr am i scancel l edand t he audi ence di scarded

17 The f r ee l unch concept of t he mass medi a was r s t stated by Li ebl i ng J The P r e s s ,Y Bal l ant i ne 1961

18 Loc c i t 121 f or el aborate obf uscat i on s ee Machl up F r i t z , The Product i on andDi s t r i but i on ofKnowedge i n t he Uni t edSt ates Pri ncet on Pri ncet on Uni ver si t y P r e s s , 1962

19 See Br own L e s , Tel evi ri on The Busi ness Behi ndt he Box Y Har cour t Brace J ovanovi ch1971

20 Li vant W l l i a m Notes on t he Devel opment of t he Product i on of Labour Power 22Mar ch 1975 di t t o ed

21 L i v ant , W l l i a m Moreon t he Product i on of Damaged Labour Power 1 Apr i l 1975 di t -t o ed , p 2

22 I n argui ng t hat al l non- sl eepi ng t i me under capi ta l i sm s wor k t i me I go beyondSamr mnwho says Soci al t i me i s s p l i t i n t o non- wor ki ng t i me and wor ki ng t i me But here t oo t hef ormer exi s t s onl y t o s e r ve t he l a t t e r I t i s not l e i s u r e t i me as i t i s cal l ed i n t he f a l s e consci ousness of al i enat ed men but r ecuperat i on t i me I t i s f unct i onal r ecuper ati on t hat i s

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LL SMYTHEs o c i a l l y organi zed andnot l e f t up t o t he i ndi vi dual despi te cert ai n appearances , I n Prai seof Soci al i sm , Monthl yRevi ew, Sept ember, 1974, p 8 . Amna l s o has the bl i nd spot whi chdoes not r ecogni ze t he audi ence commditywhi chmas s medi ahave produced .

3 1 amperhaps wrong t o excl ude sl eepi ng t i me fromwor k . The di v i di ng l i n e between r e-creati on of t he a bi l i t y t o work whi l e awake andsl eepi ng may be i l l u s o r y . I t may be that t hehead coach of t heWashi ngt on, DC Redski n professi onal f ootbal l team GeorgeAl l en, i sc l o s e r t o t hemrk than mos t econom st s when he t e l l s hi s pl ayers , Nobody shoul d wor k a l lt he t i me . Lei sure t i me i s t he f i v e or s i x hours you sl eep a t ni ght . Youcan cominetwogoodt hi ngs a t once, sl eep and l e i s u r e . Quoted i n Terkel , Loui s, Wor ki ng, NY . Pant heon, 1974,p 389

24 .

Li vant , W l l i a m The Communi cat i ons Commdi ty Xerox, Uni versi ty of Regi na, 25December , 1975) , p 7 .

25 .

For present purposes I i gnore t he a n c i l l a r y and i n t e r a c t i v e processes whi ch cont r i but e t o t heproducti on of l abour power i nvol v i ng a l s o t he educat i onal i n s t i t u t i o n s , t he churches, l abouruni ons, and a host of vol unt ar y associ at i ons e . g . YMCA Gi r l Scouts) .

26 .

The f ol l ow ng anal ysi s dr aws ont he de Grazi a, Sebast i an, OTi me, Wrk andLei sur e, NY Anchor , 1964 .

27 .

Manx, Karl , Gr undr i sse, London, Pel i can, 1973, p 287 .

28 .

I b i d p 325 .

29 .

Part - t i me wor kers pr obabl y mre f emal e than mal e) amunted i n 1960 to ni net een percentof t he empl oyed l abour force i n t he Uni t ed States andworked an average of 19 hours weekl y .I f we excl ude such wor kers i n order t o get a f i gure compar abl e t o t he 70 hours i n 1850, weconsi der t he weekl y hours worked by t he average Ameri canmal ewhoworked at l e a s t 35 hours

per week and f i nd that t hey aver aged 46. 4 a s agai nst 39 . 5 f o r a l l workers ) . For t he sake ofbr e v i t y , I omt t he counterpart cal cul at i on o f f ree t i me f o r womn No s e x i s t i mpl i cati onsare i ntended .

30 .

Loc . c i t p 346 .

31 .

` . . . t he manuf act ur ers of paper and i nk andTVs e t s whose products are used t o control andpoi son t hemnds of t he peopl e . . . I b i d p 344) .

32 .

Bl ank, Davi d M Pl easurabl e Pursui ts The Changi ng Structure of Lei sure- Ti me Spec-tator Act i vi t i es , Nat i onal Associ ati on of Busi ness Economst s, Annual Meet i ng, Sept ember ,1970 d i t t o .33 .

Br oadcast i ng Yearbook, 1974, p 69 .

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34 For many years patrons a t pr ofessi onal basebal l and f o o t b a l l games have been l i s t e ni n g t opor t abl e r adi os broadcast i ng t he same game I n 1975 I observed that patrons a t pr ofessi onalf ootbal l games ar e begi nni ng t o wat ch t he same game on por t abl e TVs e t s f or t he i ns t antrepl ays

35 L e v i t t TN The I ndus t r i al i z at i on of Servi ce , Har vardBusi ness Revi ew Sept ember , 1976,pp 63- 74, 73

36 I us e the t e rm r a t i onal here i n t he common sense usage, that t he r e s u l t shoul d be onewhi ch can be l i ved w th , i s t he r i g h t deci si on , whi ch makes sense I i mpl y noBentham st cal cul us of u t i l i t i e s or pl easure or pai n

37 Li nder, Sta f fen B TheHarr i edLei sure Cl a s s Y Col umbi aUni vers i t y P r e s s 1970, p 59

38 I b i d pp 70- 71

39 I b i d P 71

40

Publ i sher s bl urb f or Ward Scott, Wackman Dani el B andWart el l a, El l en, owChddrenLearn t o Buy : The Devel opment of Consumer I nf ormati on- Processi ng Skdl s, Beverl y H i l l sSage Publ i cat i ons , 1977

41 Li nder, op c i t . p 123

42 I bi dMonopol y Capi t a l i sm p 122

43 I b i d. p 119

BLI NDSPOT

44 Gal brai t h, J K TheAf f l uent Soci ety, Bost on, Houghton Mi f f l i n 1958, p 160

45 I b i d Monopol y Capi t a l i sm p 125 46

I b i d p 141

47 At t he outset of Vol ume I I Capi tal , Marx s a y s : I t i s t her ef or e taken f or granted here notonl y that t he commodi t i es ar e sol d a t t he i r val ues but a l s o t h a t t h i s takes pl ace under t he samecondi t i ons t hr oughout L i kew se di s r egarded ther ef or e a r e any changes of val ue whi chmghtoccur dur i ng t he movement i n c i r c u i t s . ( Mar x, Kar l , Capi tal , Vol 1 1 Book 1 1 p 26 Moscow Progress Publ i shers , 1967 .

48 Mar x, Kar l , Gr undr i sse London, Pel i can Books, 1973, p 91- 2 Emphasi s added

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49 I b i d p 99

50 Ref err i ng t o a reported 13 m l l i o n adver t i si ng budget whi ch pr oduced 16 m l l i o n i n drugs t o r e s a l e s expressed i n whol esal e p r i c es t hey s ay : Al l ow ng f or ahandsome p r o f i t mar gi n,whi ch of cour se i s added t o s e l l i n g as wel l as product i on c o s t i t seems c l e ar that t he c o s t ofproduct i on can hardl y be more than a m nut e pr opor t i on of even t he whol esal e pr i ce . (Opc i t . p 119)

51 I b i d Monopol y Capi ta l i sm p 118

LL SI mo SMYTHE

52 Cf Aspi nal l , A P o l i t i c s andt hePr ess , 1949

53 The young and conservati ve Ri char d T El y wr i t i ng i n 1886 presented a sympatheti c andr e s p e c t f u l account of t he radi cal i smof t he exi st i ng uni onmovement i n t he Uni t ed States E l yRi char d T. TheLabourMovement i n Amer i ca, NY . T. Y Cr owel l Co 1886

54 Stone, Catheri ne, TheOr i gi ns of J ob Structures i n t he Steel I ndust r y , Revi ewofRadi calPol i t i cal Economy, Summer, 1974, p 113- 173

55 Kni ght , MM Bar nes, H E and Fl ugel , F . Economc Hi r t ory of Eur ope, NY HoughtonMi f f l i n, 1928

56 Brady, Rober t A The Rat i onal i zat i on Movement i n German I ndust r y Berkel ey, Uni v ofCal i f P r e s s 1933, and hi s Busi ness as a System of Power , NY Col umbi a Uni versi ty P r e s s1943 Al so Vebl en, T The Theor y of Busi ness Ent erpr i se, NY Vi k i ng P r e s s 1964

57 J eremy Benthamand Char l es Babbage had publ i ci zed t he i deas ; Tayl or and hi s s u c c e s s o r swer e t he experts who appl i ed them See Braver man, Harry, Labour andMonopol y Capi t al NY Mont hl y Rev i ew P r e s s 1974 ; St one, Cather i ne, TheOr i gi ns of J obStructures i n t heS t ee l I ndust r y , op c i t . and Pal mer , Bryan, Cl ass, Concept i on and Conf l i ct : The Thr ustf or E f f i c i e n c y Manageri al Vi ews of Labour and t he Worki ngCl ass Rebel l i on, 1903- 1922 .Revi ewof Radi cal P o l i t i c a l Economy Summer, 1974, p 31 49

58 EdwnHLew s ar gues that Pr i or t o Ci v i l War i n t he Uni t ed S t a t e s t he whol esal er wast y p i c a l l y t he dom nant f ac t or i n t he channel Smal l r e t a i l e r s and f r equent l y smal lmanuf actur er s as we l l depended on t he whol esal er t o c ar r y stocks and t o gi v e c r ed i t orf i n a n c i a l suppor t Fol l ow ng t he Civi l War l a r g e s c al e r e t a i l e r s became t he domnant el ementi n t he di str i buti on of conveni ence goods andcert ai n shoppi ng goods As manuf act ur er s havegrown l a r ge r and as o l i gopo l i s t i c condi t i ons have prevai l ed i n many i ndus t r i e s t hemanuf act ur er has hel d a posi t i on of strength i n t he channel . Lew s, EdwnH Market i ngChannel s, NY McGrawHi l l 1968, p 163Accor di ng t o Phi l i p Kot l er Achange began i n t he 1890 s w t h t he gr owt h of nat i onal f i r msandnat i onal adver t i si ng medi a Thegr owt h of br and names has been s o dr amat i c that t oday,i n t he Uni t ed S t a t e s hardl y anyt hi ng i s sol d unbranded Sa l t i s packaged i n d i s t i nc t i v emanuf actur er s cont ai ners, oranges a r e s t amped, common nut s and bo l t s ar e packaged i ncel l ophane w t h a di str i but or s l a bel andvari ous parts of an aut omobi l e spark pl ugs, t i r e sf i l t e r s bear v i s i b l e br and names d i f f e r e n t fromt h a t of t he aut omobi l e . Kot l er, Phi l i p Market i ngManagement, 2nd ed . Engl ewood C l i f f s Newersey, Prent i ce Hal l , 1972, p 446

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33/76

BLINDSPOT59 Pal amountai n, J oseph CJ r Ver t i cal Conf l i c t i n St e r n Loui sDi str i buti on Channel s :Behavi oral Di mensi ons, NY HoughtonMef f l i n, 1969, p 138 60 Stuart Ewen, i n Capt ai ns of Consci ousness NY McGr aw- Hi l l , 1976) pr ovi des abundantdocument at i on of t he purposi veness w th whi ch monopol y capi tal i smused adver t i si ng andt he i nf ant massmedi a f or t h i s purpose i n t he per i od ar ound and f ol l ow ng Worl dWar 1

61 Lessi ng, L P anof ghFi del i ty E. A Armst r ong

62 Whydi d the ci nema, general l y conceded t o bepart of t h e mass medi a, not becomepr oducersof audi ence pr oduct s as part of t he systemc bul ge of t he consci ousness i ndustr y a f t e r 1875? Tot h i s there a r e s ever a l obvi ous answer s The ci nema requi res an audi ence assembl ed out si det hehome I t i s i n t he anci ent tr adi t i onal modeof t he theatre, arena, assembl y, et c As such i thad i t s ownmomentumand def i ned i t s pr i me pr oduct as the s a l e of a s ea t at a pa r t i c u l a rl ocati on and t i me i n rel ati on t o t he exhi bi t ed f i l m What the

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