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The Philosophy of Art & Aesthetics.

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e_dog
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Post by e_dog » May 7th, 2005, 6:28 pm

The marketing business
is marked by sin.

Trevor
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Post by Trevor » May 9th, 2005, 6:32 pm

Only if you are religious.

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e_dog
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Post by e_dog » May 10th, 2005, 12:02 pm

The most seductive religion of all
is called
Capitalism.

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izeveryboyin
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Post by izeveryboyin » May 11th, 2005, 2:47 pm

the marketers are the most effective studies of the human pysche. Want proof? They sold me a hair coloring device last week for 39.99. How? B/c they knew, like all wildly intelligent girls (and some small children) I would be mesmerized by colors, and being female, am also obsessed with my hair. Gah! How DO they do it? Discuss.

--k
sometimes I just like to breathe.

www.technicolorfraud.blogspot.com

Trevor
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Post by Trevor » May 11th, 2005, 2:55 pm

Yes

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izeveryboyin
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Post by izeveryboyin » May 12th, 2005, 3:11 pm

yes? is that all? pssha, that's not a good answer *scoffs* do it again! LOL

--k
sometimes I just like to breathe.

www.technicolorfraud.blogspot.com

Trevor
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Post by Trevor » May 16th, 2005, 12:27 pm

Jk,

LOL...what can I say but "yes"... for once I whole heartedly agree with what Edog was saying...sheeesh, I'm not always a trouble maker!! And if you dont' believe me then we can just duke it out punk!! lol :) Actually, if I had to further my thoughts on this beyond just a simple "yes"...I'd say Capitalism is most likely the most seductive form of religion. I do believe people a lot of people worship the buck and the system that maintains the pursuit of it while the system maintains the illusion of everybody and their grandma can become Donald Trump if you just work hard enough. Like religion in that it gives people a sense of hope for better things...and if you just work hard enough you will be rewarded with more of what you want, etc. Capitalism is also probably the fastest growing system in the world...ie. Russia, China, East Germany...all crumbling to the call of money...well its a little more complex than that but I'm not going to do my usual babbling on...well at least not about that point.

However, marketing is only full of sin if you practise, or live by a different religion than modern capitalism because in Capitalism, good marketing, (and often sometimes just plain blatent decietful marketing) is considered a sacrament and not a sin. Companies like Nike thrive on it, so much so, the payroll budget for the workers who actually make the shoes is not even 10% of the amount Nike spends on advertising the shoes. Shit, I don't even think the workers salaries combined is on par with the handful of people who sit on Nike's executive board. I think I read somewhere Nike's labour force on average makes 30 cents an hour or something ridiculous like that...and turns out a new pair of shoes every ten to twelve minutes....could be less even...and then these shoes go on to retail at staggering prices. Now morally, in terms of common religions, paying someone so little while profiting so much might be considered bad, but in the religion of Capitalism, where profit margins determine success, this is heaven. Anyways, just thought I'd add some loose thoughts on the subject.

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izeveryboyin
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Post by izeveryboyin » May 16th, 2005, 1:53 pm

now see... there's an answer!!! *smiles*

--k
sometimes I just like to breathe.

www.technicolorfraud.blogspot.com

surfermike
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Post by surfermike » May 16th, 2005, 7:14 pm

recently I helped a nice young woman
move. Tough duty at the best of times,
but there was some comic relief. We pulled
out three (old fashioned, yet still unused) fitness
devices. A collapsable stationary bicycle, an aluminimum
rowing thing, and..... some piece of shit that resembeled
power walking or skiing. All three still in the box from
around 1990-91. I merely pointed to all these devices,
and she explained that in those days she had just
received her first Visa card. I got it, and we all know how
that is. The real bad part of this story is that she made me
move it into her new place and store it in an all new
closet across town.
_________________
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Last edited by surfermike on March 4th, 2009, 12:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

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e_dog
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Post by e_dog » May 16th, 2005, 9:31 pm

Capitalism is a religion
in which
Nothing is sacred.

This
is its greatest
Innovation.

Trevor
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Post by Trevor » May 17th, 2005, 12:41 am

Jk,

Well if you're happy I'm happy...lol :)



Mike,

Great story....I think we all have at least one bobble we bought years ago that's still in the package.


Edog,

"Capitalism is a religion
in which
Nothing is sacred.

This
is its greatest
Innovation."


Or you could also perhaps look at it as everything is sacred, as in everything, (including space and beyond) holds a dollar value, therefore everything is to be coveted... which in a religion like capitalism is a commandment, not a sin, therefore sacred....I mean if money is sacred, then everything with a dollar value is sacred as well....and the greatest innovation is perhaps the formula of how the hell they got so many people to go along with this...

I remember reading a book called "Death in Chile" or at least my clumsey memory is telling me that's what the book was called....it was a collection of journals and stories from citizens of Chile during the Pinochet regime years.....one of the accounts talks about the system he set up. He hired psychologists to help determine the breaking point of his citizens and based upon that, he manipulated people's rights to get what he wanted and stay in power without a civil war....ie...a rough description would be banning certain literature while giving them a festival...or abducting and killing certain people while giving them a new public service..etc....and since he controlled all the mass media of his country, he could paint it anyway he wanted as well. And in a way, that's what goes on in the Western world too but it doesn't seem as cruel because its marketed so well and the general public has bought it.

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e_dog
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Post by e_dog » May 17th, 2005, 10:57 am

if everything has value (monetary value) on a scale of equivalences, then nothing is sacred because everything is exchangeable. commodification is the progressive/regressive removal of taboos and uniqueness, which obliterates the domain of the sacred.

perhaps it should be said that capitalism is an anti-religion, provided we understand that it partakes of many of the features of a religion, but in an inverted or perverted or, simply, extroverted manner.

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izeveryboyin
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Post by izeveryboyin » May 17th, 2005, 11:35 am

trev, I'm always happy. *scoffs at self's blatant disregard for actuasl feelings*

--k
sometimes I just like to breathe.

www.technicolorfraud.blogspot.com

Trevor
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Post by Trevor » May 17th, 2005, 12:37 pm

"if everything has value (monetary value) on a scale of equivalences, then nothing is sacred because everything is exchangeable. "

You could look at it like that, but if we are going to use religion as a metaphor to describe Capitalism, then personally I would say everything is sacred. If its money that is worshipped, then its money that is sacred, and if everything is simply a monetary value, then everything is sacred. Everything is sacred because it has a dollar value to it, hence companies fighting for patents, mineral rights, natural resources etc. on everything from water, land, air space, the food supply, oil to the very genetics that make up life. All these are sacred to capitalism because it equates to dollar value and power and the high priests at the top of the capitalist pyramid are rushing to control it all. Consumers are the flock and raw material turned into communiun wafer consumables is what keeps the coffers full. That's just my take on it.

"commodification is the progressive/regressive removal of taboos and uniqueness, which obliterates the domain of the sacred. "

That's not necessarily true. Take for instance the bible or the Koran, two of the most highly published books of all time....or crosses and other religious knick knacks....or flags....its the very removal of uniqueness - the very act of strict conformity and loss of identity that allows these mass produced things to be worshipped widespread. The uniqueness of, say a bible, belonging to a certain relgion is there but within that religion the uniqueness of it being an individual item is gone...However, although highly commodified, mass produced and a big booming business, the bible and Koran is still considered sacred.

Perhaps anything with a dollar value is sacred in capitalism, but the more dollar value something has, the more holy it becomes. Like oil is the Ark of the Convenant and the whole of Sudan is perhaps a broken rosary being swept under a church pew.

"perhaps it should be said that capitalism is an anti-religion, provided we understand that it partakes of many of the features of a religion, but in an inverted or perverted or, simply, extroverted manner."

Perhaps instead of focusing on money as the metaphorical god, capitalism could be said as a religion where a person truly only worships themself. Putting self worth, in the form of the pursuit of want, above all else - even a real god (if one or many do exist). Personally, although fun to compare, I would rather say capitalism isn't really a religion, or anti-religion though metaphorically does share similarities. For me Capitalism is just Capitalism .... another "ism" to govern economic life that is once again severely flawed by human nature; though in my opinion it was a losing equation from conception. Personally I don't think capitalism works even in theory.

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e_dog
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Post by e_dog » May 18th, 2005, 2:05 pm

Capital demands
human sacrifice.

The standard is no
longer gold; coins
are redeemed
in blood.

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