Wednesday, April 17, 2019

775: How is the weather...?

After 1945 the world started to rebuilt itself. The world should change for the better. 
  
After the horrors of the battlefield, the tens of thousands of young men who returned to the labor process wanted a better life.
   
A number of scientists, psychologists and sociologists, tried to register and understand the changes in society. They were critical about  what they saw.
   
Erich Fromm writes in 1976, more or less the end of the era we are looking at now, that modern society has become materialistic and prefers "having" to "being". 

Society nowadays has completely deviated from its actual path. The materialistic nature of people of "having" has been more developed than "being". 
  
Modern industrialization has made great promises, but all these promises are developed to fulfill their interests and increase their possessions.
  
Sociologist W.H. Whyte published "The Organisation Man" in 1956, in which he described the human behaviour in urban settings in America.
  
Famous is also "White Collar" from 1956 by C. Wright Mills.It describes the forming of a "new class": the white-collar workers. 
  
It is also a major study of social alienation in the modern world of advanced capitalism, where cities are dominated by "salesmanship mentality".
  
American citizens changed from tough individualists into masses, conformist habit beings instead of free-thinking activists.
  
Modern power, unlike the direct power of the factory director over his employees or that of the autocratic ruler over his subjects, 
  
has become bureaucratic and therefore less easy to locate and recognize.
  
Society in the post-war era changed into mass society and into "The Affluent Society", which was the title of the book by the American economist, J.K Galbraith,(1958).
   
For the fist time in history economic uncertainty as one of the main worries had disappeared, that is, mainly in Western democracies.
  
What is left is the care for the production of goods. Only by higher production and productivity can the level of income be maintained. 
  
The goods we produce are no longer essential for survival.You don't need ten different brands of toothpaste, for instance.
  
But in the other-directed society as Riesman called it, we do not want to be inferior to the neighbors. 
  
It does not matter that goods are not essential for survival. The desire to get better and better goods is going to lead a life of its own.
   
Galbraith concluded, that when goods are no longer essential for survival, then demand has to be created.
  
This means that advertisement has to be an integral part of the economic system. It is the child and at the same time the father of the mass consumption and culture.
   
Companies build new factories because of the increasing demand. Therefor they build new factories, for which they have to make debts.
  
Thence they have to increase demand, and/or prices, which increases the needed profits to survive and pay off their debts, which makes the economy grow.
   
This is just a small detail from the neo-liberal legacy of the post-war period. There is more to come,
  
in particular in relation to the final consequences it has for what is happening at the moment in the 21st century.
    
Thank you for your attention again....

The Discussion

  
[13:18] herman Bergson: To summarize it....
[13:19] herman Bergson: The post-war period...the 1950s - 1960s created the mass society and mass consumption and thus sonsumerism
[13:19] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it is so funny i was just thinking that our grocery stores are more like museums
[13:19] oola Neruda: That is the subject matter of Andy Warhol's art work.... soup cans (products) and celebrity...
[13:19] herman Bergson: ohh in what sense Gemma?
[13:19] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): old stuff Gemma?
[13:19] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sooo many choices of everything
[13:20] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): shelves of soups
[13:20] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): toothpaste
[13:20] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): different varieties
[13:20] herman Bergson: Yes.....indeed....
[13:20] Satisfire: so these debts are purely virtual? so if we forgive each other debts economy  wont collapse?
[13:20] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): etc etc
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sure its nice to have some to choose from but sometimes its just to much
[13:20] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right'
[13:21] herman Bergson: I am no economist Satisfire.....
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like 50 diffrent models of washing machines
[13:21] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i have been in little shops in puerto rico... costa rica... Mexico that have one item of each
[13:21] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is it
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): which basically all do the same thing, keep your clothes fresh
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and work the same
[13:21] herman Bergson: It shows that goods aren't there for our primary survival anymore......
[13:21] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right
[13:21] herman Bergson: and thence you need advertisement to create the demand
[13:22] oola Neruda: Andy's point
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh yes
[13:22] herman Bergson: that is the carrousel we are in these days
[13:22] Satisfire: ah humans...enforcing excess wherever they have possibility
[13:22] herman Bergson: yes oola
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): why this washing machine is sooooo much better then that washing machine
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and so on
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it has one new dial
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): fro something
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): same with mobile phones
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:22] herman Bergson: you could say that Satisfire
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and similar stuff
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but also there are different models with different features and the more and better features you want the more u have to pay
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hence all these different models
[13:23] herman Bergson: Next lecture I'll show you that it all has gone one step further....
[13:23] Satisfire: maybe its because we feel lonely in the universe and we try to fill it with our rubbish to feel like home
[13:23] herman Bergson: Was unfortunately too much to put it all in this one
[13:24]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): The current economy recalls meoecology and  Bertalanffy's general systems theory
[13:24] herman Bergson: Well, Riesman's description of the situation was named "The Lonely Crowd", Satisfire
[13:25] herman Bergson: You have to elaborate on that a little Anja....:-)
[13:25] Satisfire: yes and science and technology pretty much gave us this existential situation
[13:25] oola Neruda: and greed
[13:25] CB Axel: meoecology?
[13:25] herman Bergson: very much so, oola, and I'll show you next time
[13:26]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): There are what are called dissipative systems... let's putan example: the bubbles in water when you  boil  it
[13:26] Satisfire: humanity is like a lump in a monotonous complexity field, out of nowhere
[13:26]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): you need to put energy in them to keep the stream of bubbles.... heatcontinuously or thewater stops boiling.
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sure a computer and mobile are useful but i DONT need to buy each new model coming out, however companies like Apple try forcing their products obsolete, denying service et to be able to force us to buy the latest model
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): throwing lot of still working stuff on the trash heap
[13:27] herman Bergson: like the bubbles in the water Bejiita......
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that is the big problem, waste and overconsumption
[13:28] herman Bergson: then the interesting question becomes.....where does the energy come from to keep the bubbles in the water and to what purpose
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): this computer i have had for many years but its still working good so i keep it
[13:28]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): but when you put  more enery... these metastable systems grow.. and event take energy from smaller systems nearby
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): again tho so many good things came out of those years
[13:28] oola Neruda: psychology... applied.... in making people want
[13:28] Satisfire: no wonder some people go crazy
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): women became more than house workers
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): same with my galaxy I7, i dont need an I10 cause this one is still working and i can still play both TURF and Pokemon go on it
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): began to feel more independent with jobs
[13:29] herman Bergson: Yes Gemma....but there isi one observation to make here....like Galbraith did....
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i wait until this one breaks
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): before getting a new
[13:29] Satisfire: actually theres a lot of rubbish on orbit and earth proximity already
[13:29] herman Bergson: The public sector like education, medic care , police etc are always the poor people in the class......
[13:29] herman Bergson: never the best paid
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): correct
[13:30]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): indeed!
[13:30] oola Neruda: migrant workers are paid much less than them
[13:30] herman Bergson: even when the economy is doing so well.....the public sector stays behind
[13:30] oola Neruda: because Americans won't "stoop" to do those jobs
[13:30] Satisfire: thank u, gotta go
[13:31]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): take care Satisfire
[13:31] CB Axel: But the highest paid are ones who don't produce anything.
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the bosses and stock owners take all the revenue and nothing is left for the est
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the workers ect
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): bye come again
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): get nothing
[13:31] herman Bergson: I'll address that issue in the next lecture
[13:32]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): You know ,in corporations ,the one who invents the goods is the one earning the less...  managers and salesmen are those who really earn
[13:32] herman Bergson: is an interesting phenomenon of the 21st century
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:32] oola Neruda: Warhol "gave a speech".... he arrived, stood between two of the velvet underground musicians...
[13:32]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): So it's  advertisement and marketing, to create needs, what really matters.
[13:33] herman Bergson: yes Anja
[13:33] oola Neruda: he never spoke... and when question time came he let them answer everything... never ever said a word
[13:33]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity) nods at bejita
[13:33] oola Neruda: he was showing that you can sell anything.... because that was a stand in... not warhol at all
[13:33] oola Neruda: advertising...
[13:34] oola Neruda: manipulation f image
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a doll?
[13:34] herman Bergson: Advertisement has become an interesting issue these days.....
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is true
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed
[13:34] oola Neruda: no... just someone dressed up like him
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): at once were selling a bottle of air as a souvenir of somewhere
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i use to say, advertising is getting people to buy stuff they don't need and i mean we dont need things we don't need
[13:35] herman Bergson: The completely annoying commercials interrupting your movie every ten minutes
[13:35] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): that's why I prefer to read a book
[13:35] theo Velde is online.
[13:35] herman Bergson: Good idea Beertje :-)
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): worst are all these casino commersials promising wealth but in reality is just after making u play away all your earnings to them and ruin ur life
[13:36]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): yes, good idea
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): profit by creating misery for others
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats evil
[13:36] theo Velde is offline.
[13:36] CB Axel: I'm pretty good at ignoring online ads.
[13:36] herman Bergson: Yes me too CB
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they make use of the fact that many peope have gambling addiction
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): we had better be
[13:36] herman Bergson: Those casino ones are stupid indeed Bejiita
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): all ads are puffed
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): we all need to know that
[13:37] oola Neruda: casinos are great places for laundering money... just ask Trump
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and teach the young
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): true oola
[13:37] herman Bergson: We need anti-ad education :-)
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes and when i get interupted every 2nd minute while trying to listen to music or learn a new programming language or game engine on youtube by at least 10 different such casino commercials i just go AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): take a deep breath and ignore bef
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): bej
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): IM NOT INTERESTED LET ME FINISH MY VIDEO AND MUSIC AND STUP INTERUPTING ME!
[13:38] CB Axel: I use that time to get up and use the toilet. :-)
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it gets wayyy to much
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right cb
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): was going to say
[13:38] herman Bergson: WOrks quite well CB :-)
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe yes
[13:39] herman Bergson: ok...
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): they have actually measured the amount of water flushing during some important football game commercials
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)
[13:39] herman Bergson: Next time we'll have a closer look at our consumer situation
[13:39] CB Axel nods
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but i don't want such iterupts every 5 minutes, i want to work with my projects
[13:39]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): I like switching commercials, though, and think about how do they perform to hook people.
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): 1 or maybee 2 breaks is ok but not 10 in one video
[13:40] herman Bergson: Is an interesting sport indeed, Anja ^_^
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and also the sound is often turned up so u fly through the roof when the commercial tarts
[13:40]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): indeed
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): TATATATAAAAAAAA! CRASSSSSSSH OUUUUW!
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)))
[13:40] herman Bergson: Ahh you noticed that too, Bejiita
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): very annoying
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): esp when trying to relax
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and u suddely fly through the roof
[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): it's a wake=up call Bejiita
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): with busted eardrums
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least some commercials are like that
[13:42]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): normally the first of the break
[13:42] herman Bergson: What is interesting is , that  anumber of sociologists and psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s were rather worried about the direction Western culture took
[13:42] CB Axel: In the US, commercials are not supposed to be louder than the shows. But if there is one loud explosion in a show, that's the volume the commercials are set to.
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): lol CB
[13:43] oola Neruda: it is worthwhile to look up all the different methods of propaganda... how to "control" people... as a journalist, i have come to be fairly good at spotting them in written or film matter
[13:43] herman Bergson: I get a feeling that these days they all are cheering the benefits of the neo-liberal economic world
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:43] CB Axel: My nephew is a marketer.
[13:44] oola Neruda: just choosing which picture to publish (good looks or caught frowning...etc)
[13:44] CB Axel: He went to college for 4 years to learn how to manipulate people.
[13:44] herman Bergson: yes....amazing, isn't it CB?
[13:44] CB Axel: And if the picture isn't good enough they photoshop it, oola.
[13:44] oola Neruda: the room was full..... vs..... there were only 20 people who attended
[13:45] oola Neruda: some propaganda is very subtle
[13:45] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sure is
[13:45] herman Bergson: are there ethical questions related to marketing?
[13:45] oola Neruda: there should be
[13:45] herman Bergson: That is what I mean....
[13:45] oola Neruda: real journalists try to adhere to them....
[13:46] oola Neruda: is why when trump calls things "fake news"..... people start to dismiss what any of the journalists say
[13:46] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): so true
[13:46] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): his base that is
[13:46] oola Neruda: no matter their reputation or the strict rules of the publication
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): when in reality they should dismiss whatever Trump say cause its what he says that is FAKE NEWS
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): if anything
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): just a lot of blubber
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): r
[13:47] oola Neruda: yes
[13:47] oola Neruda: if you hear something often enough you start to believe it
[13:48] herman Bergson: Well....we better leave Trump out today :-)
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): good idea
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true Oola
[13:48] oola Neruda: seven times is one of the standards for making them believe it
[13:48]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): Yes, some people play to that..
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): is julian assange a hero or a devil
[13:48] herman Bergson: YEs it sometimes works oola...
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): he have never gotten to me cause i know he is an idiot (and thus also switch over to something else when he is about to start blubbering something)
[13:49] oola Neruda: so they get several people to go on the sunday talk shows and use the current code word or code phrase.....
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): think about that
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but i realized that from start
[13:49] oola Neruda: so that you hear it a lot
[13:49] herman Bergson: At least he is captured now, Gemma :-)
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): we will see
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): there are those believe hs is a hero
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): for the truth
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and those who dont
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): will be interesting
[13:50] oola Neruda: fa,e news helps convince them
[13:50]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): That we will know with time.
[13:50] oola Neruda: the fake news he puts out over and over
[13:50] herman Bergson: To be honest, I have no opinion about this person....
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): he certainly went kicking and screaming
[13:50] oola Neruda: along with his puppets
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): perfect example of that
[13:50]  Aŋą Dε Mεŋą (anton.verity): yes, he did Gemma
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): assange seems like a strange fellow, wht he did first was good but now he seems well i don't know, in Sweden he have supposedly raped several women and also he have said lot of weirs stuff which finally got him thrown out from the embassy, al bit like if i would visit someone and then start calling them shitheads, i would also get thrown out
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): what of this is true i dont know but
[13:51] herman Bergson: That is th point Bejiita...
[13:51] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): did they drop the charges??
[13:51] herman Bergson: Sweden did
[13:51] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is what i meant
[13:52] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): so usa should get him then
[13:52] oola Neruda: my guess is that the muhler report is being held up for things like..... not tipping him that he was being looked at for arrest
[13:52] oola Neruda: and other such issues
[13:52] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i think not oola
[13:52] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but others hold charges on him
[13:52] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): he does not really matter in the report
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i think
[13:53] herman Bergson: Obama dropped them, Trump reinstated them
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): have to run1!!!!!
[13:53] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bye Gemma
[13:53] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok gemma
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i am not sure of that herman
[13:53] oola Neruda: he is the one that worked with the campaign to release it...he released it
[13:53] herman Bergson: Yes.....we are nicely of topic, so you are all free to run :-))
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): trump likes him tho he sont say
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): wont say
[13:53] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): NOW
[[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the biggest issue is they want to get him so that they can again hide away the fact that they murdered civilians in Iraq before and can do so again if they please and get away with it
[13:54] herman Bergson: Thank you all again for your participation :-)
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats awful
[13:54] CB Axel: See you all next week. Bye.
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats 100 % what they want to get assange for
[13:54] oola Neruda: baieee
[13:54] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): welterusten CB:)
[13:54] herman Bergson: Class dismissed......^_^
  


   

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