Culture, Infantilisation and the new ethic of capitalism

When I ran a shop in Sweetwater, in one of my former lives, I hired a young man to work there under my supervision as an aircraft mechanic. JT had some of the best manipulative skills and manual dexterity I have ever seen in a young feller his age. But JT had a fun loving personality that was a little loud and a little full of himself. He could on rare occasion handle himself appropriately if professionalism and long periods of focus were not required. But he was young and he was a little loud which prevented him from learning much or appreciating his real talents and potential. After a while, he started missing work and coming to work late and was always out of money. He was an easy mark for every hustler of either gender in those parts because all they had to do was tell him how smart he was and get him talking. The gals all knew they only had to smile and JT would empty his pockets. He would spend every dime and all his time for their slightest attention. They trained JT to think he was lonely and miserable if he was not with them. Some of them never had to worry much about their next pay-check as long as JT had his job. I finally had to fire JT because his performance no longer made it possible for him to do enough work to even pay his wage. When he asked my reason for his termination I told him it was because he had become an easy mark and explained to him what I've just said here.

JT lived in a spectrum of society that seemed smaller to me then than it looks to me today. I knew from talking to him and listening to him that he had a pretty broad talent and natural curiosity and a bonus but somewhat back-seat desire to hone his understanding and appreciation of some finer arts of culture. My advice to him was to slow down, stay home more and read a few good books.

I was reminded of the JT experience from reading Josie Appleton's take on Benjamin Barber’s new book, Consumed.

This paragraph jumped out at me:

Barber argues that the new ethic of capitalism is one of ‘infantilisation’: money today is to be made in maintaining adults as needy children, who stuff down dumbed-down films, saccharine food and video games. While in the early stages of capitalism it benefited the capitalist system for everybody to save their pennies, now it benefits the system for us to splurge every penny and borrow more. While in the time of Franklin people were encouraged to restrain themselves and reinvest, now, says Barber, we are encouraged to act on every immediate whim, to be the grasping child in a sweet shop unable to say no.

Many years after JT was gone and I had moved on through a couple more lives, I got a phone call one evening from JT. He said he never stopped thinking about what I told him when I fired him. He had moved back to the Dallas area and said he had become successful and owned his own business glazing buildings. He said he just wanted to thank me for taking the time to shoot straight with him about what I thought back then. He said I had been right. I told him I didn't think either of us actually knew I was "right." I suspect JT just grew a little like most people do sometimes if they live long enough. But, that's not a good way to learn.

Folks would more likely to grow up with fewer scars if there weren't so much commercial interference. But ultimately, each of us have will pay the price if we let the noise replace our own thoughts. I hope there's a pendulum effect in this and that the thing is starting to swing back toward a desire for substance. Failure becomes our own fault in the end. But there are some good books on the subject.