With the rise of capitalism and the strong influence of Americanisation on our modern world, we see that the rich do indeed ‘get richer’ while the poor
become increasingly victimised.
Globalisation, as defined by Albrow (cited in Rantanen 2005,
p. 7) “refers to all those processes by which the peoples of the world are
incorporated into a single world society, global society.”
This being said, has globalisation made an improved world
society? The victims of trade exploitation would I think say not. With all our
advances in technology, our global village seems to have taken a moral dive.
Ritzer and Jurgenson describe the world as being “dominated
by capitalism” (Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010, p. 13) and it can be suggested
that this social structure still serves our ‘fat cats’—at the expense of the
dregs of society.
Just as the internet is exploding with citizen journalism and people starting businesses from home, prosumption is also accelerating. Karl Marx has been known to acknowledge that, “although
he fully understood that production always involved consumption (and vice
versa), [he] clearly believed that it was production that was pre-eminent in
the capitalism of his day” (Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010, p. 14).
Consumption and production used to be two separate entities,
with producers and their target buyers clearly defined. Now, with constant
international trade going on through facilitators like eBay and Amazon, prosumption is
threatening to take over—and has already significantly decreased—traditional trade. Globalisation is demanding more products at a lower price.
This phenomenon, known as McDonaldisation,
is making everything bow to Western culture.
Oxfam and other non-for-profit fair trade unions are working stop the exploitation,
but capitalism, largely thanks to globalisation, the fight is indeed fierce.
Places like Wal-Mart, which Ritzer and Jurgenson refer to as
“America’s cathedrals of consumption”(Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010, p. 16) are companies financially backing this
industry of exploitation—whether intentionally or not. Americanisation promotes lower prices in department stores, which pressures people in
countries like China to work for smaller and smaller salaries—with the threat of unemployment
looming over them if they refuse.
Is prosumption the inevitable evolution of a ‘civilised’,
capitalist society, or is it proof of our human tendency to exploit the
weaknesses of others? Is it really building a mutually beneficial society, or a
prison that traps those born into poverty?
References:
Images:
Image 1: Made in
China Pic: React, 2013, ‘Africa News’, retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://www.africanews.com/site/list_message/21890>.
Image 2: ‘Oxfam
Australia’ retrieved 29 August 2013, <https://www.oxfam.org.au/2011/07/zara-european-brands-exploit-workers-in-bangladesh/>.
Image 3: Boycott
China Picture: Madden, C 2013, ‘Chris Madden Cartoons’, retrieved 29 August
2013, <http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/cartoon-gallery/cartoon-boycott-products-made-in-china/>.
2013, ‘China’s workers demand a
better trade union’, Child Labour Bulletin, 22 March, retrieved 29 August 2013,
<http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/china%E2%80%99s-workers-demand-better-trade-union>.
‘Amazon’, retrieved 29 August
2013, <http://www.amazon.com/>.
Beiter, G 2006, ‘Global capitalism fueling poverty and
immigration’, Socialistworld.net, 5
January, retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/2255>.
Crabb, A 2012, ‘Americanisation
of everything, even Crikey’, Crikey,
8 November, retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/11/08/americanisation-of-everything-even-crikey/>.
‘Ebay’, retrieved 29 August 2013,
<http://www.ebay.com.au/>.
‘Globalisation’,
retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://globalisationmaxmulholland.weebly.com/americanisation.html>.
Keel, R 2010, ‘The McDonaldizaton
of Society’, Introduction to Sociology, 7 July, retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/010/mcdonsoc.html>.
‘Oxfam Australia’ retrieved 29 August 2013, <https://www.oxfam.org.au/2011/07/zara-european-brands-exploit-workers-in-bangladesh/>.
Rantanen, T 2005, ‘Theorizing Media and Globalization’, The Media and Globalization, Sage,
London, pp. 1-18.
Ritzer, G, Jurgenson, N 2010, ‘Production, Consumption,
Prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital “prosumer”’, Journal of Consumer Culture.
Toffler, A 2010, ‘YouTube’, retrieved 29 August 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqsGfF7iLSw>.
This is a very strong blog post that is backed up by scholarly material. Your writing is very clear and easy to follow and the piece flows very well. The trade exploitation channel was a strong path to take with the concept of prosumption, and you can see that you understand the key terms you are talking about extremely well.
ReplyDeletePerhaps to flip the coin and look at some of the benefits of prosumption, you could have discussed citizen journalism. Essentially, with the internet and social media alike, citizens have the opportunity to not only consume news but also produce it. This could potentially provide some answers to the media ownership crisis.
Thanks for the post
Hi Lil,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the angle you have taken in this post, it was a good read. Well thought out and articulated, you also support your argument really concisely. I like how you have looked at the negative side to prosumption. How the richer western countries are demanding more form the poorer countries. Along with how Americanisation and McDonaldsiation is influencing the rest of the world to follow with the western world.
I agree with Julia’s comment that you could have perhaps looked at Prosumption as a positive as well. As you mention there are many negatives, however with social media and blogs there are now many more platforms where these issues are brought to the public’s attention. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook have enabled users to post info on news, exploitation, war, world crisis etc that then has the capacity to reach millions of people. Without these platforms many people may not be aware of of the issues and injustices that are rapidly shared via these platforms.
Hi Lil,
ReplyDeleteGreat work on this particular blog post. I'm most impressed by your succinct and vast use of references. You have backed up your points really well. I also actually quite like your focus on the negative aspects of prosumption - yes a focus on the more positive side may have added some more depth to your piece but I found it quite interesting to read. I am certainly able to see the positive aspects of prosumption as a young Westerner so to read about the more negative aspects on other countries to produce such products is much more appealing to me as a reader. Your piece flows well and has a great structure also. Your explanation and definition of globalisation at the beginning of your post was a great way to relate this blog piece back to the unit. Overall, a great job!
- S
Hi Lil,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic post. You have back up your opinion with sufficient scholarly material, making the entire post strong and fruitful of knowledge.
The questions you ask at the end are very powerful and really place the entire blog into perspective. You have really opened my eyes to issues such as Americanisation and McDonaldisation.
Great work! And in regards to your second last question, lets hope you're wrong hey!
Hi Lil, I really enjoyed your blog and the angle that you choose to look at prosumption. Your blog was backed up with lots of resources but most importantly with interesting questions that really made the reader stop and think as to the nature of us as a society. Your blog was clearly written and easy to relate to globalisation as a subject and i really liked how you clearly stated your view and stuck to it.
ReplyDelete