注意力经济外文文献翻译中英文.docx
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注意力经济外文文献翻译中英文.docx
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注意力经济外文文献翻译中英文
注意力经济外文文献翻译中英文2019
英文
TheEconomyofAttentionintheAgeofNeoliberalism
GeorgFranck
Abstract
Inthecontextoftheeconomyofattention,mediaareinformationmarkets.Thedistinctivefeatureofoldandnewmedia,accordingly,isabusinessmodelratherthanatechnologicalbase.Oldmediaarethoseinformationmarketswhereinformationcontinuestobeexchangedformoney,newmediathosewhichhavelefttheexchangeofinformationformoneybehindonlytoattractattention.Thebusinessmodelofnewmediareliesonsellingtheserviceofattractiontotheadvertisingindustry.Thispaperpointsouttheparallelismbetweentheriseofthenewmediaandtheascentoffinancialindustries.Boththesedevelopmentsweretriggeredbytheneoliberalagendaofderegulationandhaveresultedinasphereofunleashedcapitalismremovedfromthe“real”economy.Inbothcultureandfinancetheneophyteformsofcapitalismprovetobesuperiorinprofitsanddynamics.Inbothmoneyandattentioncapitalismwehavetodealwithanewclassofrich.Intheeconomyofattentionthenewclassarethecelebritieswhosewealthofattentionisactivatedasacapitalyieldinginterestintermsofattentionincome.Thepaperinvestigatesthequestionofhowcelebrityculturecouldgrowintotheparadigmofadvertisementfinancedmediaculture.
Theageofneoliberalismisaneraofunleashedmarketforces,symptomizedbytheflourishingofVanityfairs.Theunboundforcesofcapitalismareepitomizedbywhatarenowcalledthefinancialindustries.TherecentupsurgeofVanityfairshasdischargedinso-calledcelebrityculture.Thequestionthusis:
arewefacingamerelyaccidentalcorrelationoristhereacommoncausalitywaitingtobeidentified?
Theanswerisnotquiteobvious.First,itisunclearwhetherthereisacorrespondenceintheeconomyofattentiontotheneoliberalagenainmoneydrivencapitalismatall.Second,vanityfairsstillawaittobetakenseriouslyaseconomicphenomena.Celebrityculture,muchmorethanacategoryofseriousanalysis,isanathemaofculturalcriticism.Third,theanswerdependsonhowneoliberalismisdistinguishedfromclassicalliberalism.Inthejargonofitsleft-wingcritics,neoliberalismisjustradical,andthusruthless,capitalism,fightingthepoliticalendeavorstotamethebeast.Whattendstobeoverlookedintheheatofthedebateareitsoriginsineconomictheory.
Letusstartwiththelatterpoint.Traditionally,economictheorydealswiththeworkingofmarkets.Intheory,marketscanbeshowntobeverycapable,andindeedunbeatableinformationsystemsregardingtheallocationofscarceresourcesaccordingtoneedsandwants(expressedaspreparednesstopay).Classicalliberalismtransformsthisfindingintoapoliticalagenda.Itacceptsstateinterventionintotheworkingofmarketsaslongasthereareboundaryconditionsthathinderthesmoothworkingofdecentralizeddecisionmaking.Neoliberalsarelessresilientagainststateintervention.Theycriticizeclassicalliberalsforassumingthestatetobeaneutral,i.e.notself-interestedagentofsocialwelfare.Infact,sorunstheargument,politiciansandbureaucracyarenolessegoisticandself-interestedthanbusinesspeople.Accordingly,marketfailuremustnotbecomparedwiththeworkingofanidealstate,butmarketfailurewithstatefailure.Onlyinthecasethatmarketfailuresignificantlyoutdoesstatefailureisstateinterventionjustified.Suspectingthatstatefailureisgrosslyunderratedinpublicopinion,neoliberalsgenerallyvieforreprivatizingpublicgoodsandstate-runservices.Theirbattlecryisderegulation.
Marketspresupposeprivatepropertyofthegoodsnegotiatedandexchanged.Markets,moreover,connectexchangewithvaluation,i.e.pricing.Theworkingofmarketsthusturnsthegoodsandservicesofferedintocommodities:
intoitemsmadeupandpricedforbeingsold.Privatizationofpublicgoodsandstate-runservicesthusincludesthecommodificationthereofandthesubsumptionofthepertainingpartsofthelife-worldunderthereignofcommerce.Sincemarketsaremuchmoreflexibleinrespondingtoindividualpreferencesthangovernmentbureaucracies,commodificationispronetoexpandfarbeyondtooncestate-runservicesassoonasareassuchashealthcareandtherapeuticservices,careoftheelderly,education,security,cableandwirelesscommunicationarederegulated.Sincecompetitivemarketsenforceefficiencyandsustainaconstantsearchfornichesonthepartofthesuppliers,neoliberalismshouldproveapowerfulamplifierofthegeneraltrendtowardsthecommercializationofthelife-world.
Thistendency,though,ismucholderthanneoliberalism.Atellingexampleisthehistoryoftoday’spopularculture.Popularculture,initsformthatmostmassivelyinfluencestoday’slife-world,isindustriallymanufacturedentertainment.Entertainment,however,couldnotgrowintoanindustrybeforemediawereavailablethattechnicallyrealizethereproductionoftheinformationsupplied.Itwasmediasuchasrotaryprinting,filmandmusicalrecordingthattransformedtraditionalfolkartintowhatwenowcallpopularculture.Bybeingdistributedascopiesforsale,entertainmentbecameamarketableconsumergoodandthusacommodity.Themedia,inturn,assumedthecharacterofinformationmarkets,combiningtechnicalreproductionwithdistribution.Thistransitionwas,ontheonehand,enforcedand,ontheotherhand,obstructedwhenbroadcastingbecameanoptionfordistribution.Broadcastingtheinformationmeanstoforegoitscommoditycharacter.Bybeingbroadcastitassumesthecharacterofpublicavailability,i.e.acommoditythatisfreelyavailableandconsumableinanon-rivalway.Theconsumptionbyanindividualconsumerdoesnotdetracttheamountavailableforothers.Remarkably,radioprogramsfeaturedastheparadigmcaseinPaulA.Samuelson’sintroductionoftheconceptofpublicgoodtoeconomicsin1954.
Broadcastingskipsthebarrierofthesalescounter,makingtheinformationfreelyandthusmaximallyaccessible.Bythusbeingturnedintoapubliccommodity,broadcastinformationlooksasifcallingforstateactiontobeprovidedaccordingtodemand.Thiscallwasunderstoodwhereverbroadcastingstartedasapublicservice.Accordingtothisunderstanding,stateactioniscalledforbyaparadigmcaseofmarketfailure.Inordertoturnthisinformationintoamarketablegood,itsmostprogressivepropertywouldhavetobesacrificed:
ithastobeencryptedtoreprivatizeit.Eventhoughitsconsumptionisnon-rival,ithastobeturnedbackintoanexclusivegood.Insofarstateintervention,evenatthecostofastate-runmonopoly,seemstobejustified.Notsoforneoliberals,ofcourse.Asaninformationmonopolist,thestateisafailureassuch.Theproblemisjust:
howtoprivatizethepublicgoodwithoutdestroyingitsmostefficientdistributionchannel?
Thesolutionconsistedincreatingabusinessmodelthataccountsforanotherpeculiarityofinformationgoods.Incontrasttotangibleconsumergoods,theconsumptionofinformationdoesnotcostonlymoney.Informationisnothingfixedandreadybutthesurprisevalueweextractfrompatterns.Inordertorealizethesurprisevalue,thepatternshavetoabsorbliveattention.Consuminginformationgoodsthusmeanspayingattentiontowhatthepatternissupposedtorepresent.Marketinginformationthereforeneednotmeansellingit.Itcanalsomeantomarketamediumthatiscapableofattractingtheattentionofthegeneralpublic.Mediaattractingtheattentionofthegeneralpubliciswhattheadvertisingindustryisdesperatelyseeking.Hence,thebusinessmodelforprivatizingbroadcastinformationliesinturningtheprovisionofinformationfromanendtoameans.Thepubliccommodityofbroadcastinformationisreprivatizedbyutilizingitasameansofproducingattractionservicesforsaletotheadvertisingindustry.
Atfirstglance,thisbusinessmodellooksodd.Distributingtheexpensivelyproducedgoodforfree,onlytoattractattentionthatcanbesoldintheformoftheserviceofattraction?
Sinceitindeedlooksodd,ittooksometimetomakeitswaythroughthebusinessworld.FortheAvant-Gardeofneoliberalism,however,thisbusinessmodelwasagodsend.Itcameasapromisingagendaforpopularizingthederegulationcampaign.Atthesametimeitwastousherinaneweraoftheeconomyofattention.Media,understoodasinformationmarkets,underwentamomentouschange.Itwasthebusinessmodelmuchmorethanthetechnologicalbasethatbecamethedistinguishingfeatureofso-callednew,distinctfromold,media.Oldmediaarethosestillsellinginformationformoney(press,books,CDs,cinema,theatreetc.),newmediaarethosebypassingtheexchangeofinformationformoneyinordertofullyconcentrateonthesaleableserviceofattraction(commercialTV,theInternet)
Capitalisttraitswerenotaltogetherforeigninthebusinessofoldmedia.Thepress,cinema,therecordingindustryhadalreadydevelopedintomassmediaprofessionalizingthebusinessandintroducingtechnologiesofmassattraction.Traditionally,strategiesandtechniquesofattractionhadbeencultivatedincraftsinvolvedinfashionandfurnishing.Byvirtueofthetechnicalmedia,massattractionbecameamatterofcalculablecostsandresults.Vastsumsofattentioncouldbecollectedbycheaplydisseminatingtechnicallyreproducedpatternsifonlytherightstimuliwerecoded.Bythuscollectingattentioninnovelordersofmagnitude,wealthinattentioncouldgrowintonovelordersofmagnitude.Anewclassofattentionrichappearedonthescene:
thestars.Withstardom,wealthofattentionshowedtobecapableofbeingactivatedas
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