Suchergebnisse

Study of the consumption of counterfeit products casts consumers as reflexive agents who knowingly break the law (through the consumption of illegal commodities). Because this analysis is pitched at the level of meaning rather than structural constraints, it produces a misleading view of reflexive counterfeit consumption as being motivated by resistance or the wish to escape from normative coercion. This article contrasts this with approaches that prefigure meaning in explaining counterfeit commerce by treating the trade as an unavoidable structural feature of capitalism. That is, the structural logic of capital accumulation inevitably creates a black market of counterfeit commerce. It is a parasitic form of illegal consumerism which mirrors conventional capitalist organization, reproducing familiar dynamics of status differentiation.

American society was transformed by the expansion of capital Westward and the explosion in opportunities for land-grabbing and agricultural and industrial investment. F.J. Turner's ([1893] 1961) frontier thesis portrays this transformation as the fulfilment of American character. The tensions between character and personality are examined following the ideas of Carl Schmitt on the significance of 'the occasion' in acquiring competitive advantage. Schmitt indicated the significance of a 'vertical' frontier in challenging social conventions and this constitutes a counterpoint to the 'horizontal' frontier developed in the frontier thesis of Turner. The importance of the occasion and personality in developing the American way of life is presented by an examination of the vaudeville and celebrity traditions in American entertainment.

'Leaderless organizations' are a seductive category in the field of Cultural Studies and critical organization studies. In the 1960s, arguably, Situationism made a fetish of the idea. Various authors made the case for direct, spontaneous action without the hierarchies and directive lead of conventional management structures. The Occupy protest movement revived this thinking. Following the Arab Spring (2011), it gained high media publicity for a series of occupations of prominent sites adjacent to international centres of finance capital. Global events provide a relevant parallel to this. Ever since Live Aid (1985) they have presented themselves as stateless solutions to international issues and emergencies. But are leaderless events possible in cultural management? This paper examines a neglected area in the sociology of culture: global event management and the type of social consciousness that it exploits and perpetuates. The Burning Man City annual event in Nevada is explored as a case of flat horizon strategy in cultural management.

Americans have been taught to expect their presidents to be exalted figures. But the postwar figures, from JFK to LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, have presented a sorry roll call. Each figure possessed deep personality flaws. This article argues that Nixon was the last truly auratic president, that is, a leader who presented himself as being an exalted representative of the people in terms of his insight, courage, and convictions. However, the disastrous circumstances of his departure from the White House have punctured the auratic ideal. In contrast, Clinton's foibles bring him closer to public life. The sympathy that exists for his plight among large numbers of the public signifies the recognition that his weaknesses are common. This article argues that Clinton is the first post-auratic president, a fitting, depthless leader for an American polity in an age of media-based celebrities as leaders.