De-romanticising critical marketing theory : capitalist corruption as the Left’s Žižekean fantasy
Coffin, Jack and Egan-Wyer, Carys LU
(2022)
In Journal of Marketing Management
38(44563).
p.48-70
- Abstract
Following Slavoj Žižek, critical marketing scholars have interrogated the ideological fantasies of mainstream marketing, de-romanticising markets and marketing. However, Žižek argues there is no ideology-free subject, so it stands to Žižekean reason that critical marketing scholars are also ideological fantasists. Our paper seeks to de-romanticise critical marketing theory by identifying the fantasy of capitalist corruption. This sustains the ideology of critical marketing theory by disavowing (self-)destructive desires within the human unconscious and suggesting that displacing capitalism will be enough to usher in a postcapitalist utopia. This ideological fantasy has therapeutic, motivational, and institutional benefits, but... (More)
Following Slavoj Žižek, critical marketing scholars have interrogated the ideological fantasies of mainstream marketing, de-romanticising markets and marketing. However, Žižek argues there is no ideology-free subject, so it stands to Žižekean reason that critical marketing scholars are also ideological fantasists. Our paper seeks to de-romanticise critical marketing theory by identifying the fantasy of capitalist corruption. This sustains the ideology of critical marketing theory by disavowing (self-)destructive desires within the human unconscious and suggesting that displacing capitalism will be enough to usher in a postcapitalist utopia. This ideological fantasy has therapeutic, motivational, and institutional benefits, but romanticises the human subject in ways that ultimately frustrate the critical project of societal betterment. By acknowledging the human unconscious as a corrupting influence, we hope to make critical aspirations more likely to be realised. We illustrate our argument via studies of sustainability, a favoured topic of Žižekean, critical, and mainstream scholars alike.
(Less)
- author
- Coffin, Jack
and Egan-Wyer, Carys
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- capitalism, Capitalist corruption, critical marketing, fetish, ideological fantasy, sustainability, unconscious, Žižek
- in
- Journal of Marketing Management
- volume
- 38
- issue
- 44563
- pages
- 48 - 70
- publisher
- Westburn Publishers
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85120606130
- ISSN
- 0267-257X
- DOI
- 10.1080/0267257X.2021.1996445
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2ae48c77-cc0d-4cd5-ad3f-c2fef2d76b3f
- date added to LUP
- 2022-01-18 11:43:18
- date last changed
- 2024-02-20 19:50:05
@article{2ae48c77-cc0d-4cd5-ad3f-c2fef2d76b3f,
abstract = {{<p>Following Slavoj Žižek, critical marketing scholars have interrogated the ideological fantasies of mainstream marketing, de-romanticising markets and marketing. However, Žižek argues there is no ideology-free subject, so it stands to Žižekean reason that critical marketing scholars are also ideological fantasists. Our paper seeks to de-romanticise critical marketing theory by identifying the fantasy of capitalist corruption. This sustains the ideology of critical marketing theory by disavowing (self-)destructive desires within the human unconscious and suggesting that displacing capitalism will be enough to usher in a postcapitalist utopia. This ideological fantasy has therapeutic, motivational, and institutional benefits, but romanticises the human subject in ways that ultimately frustrate the critical project of societal betterment. By acknowledging the human unconscious as a corrupting influence, we hope to make critical aspirations more likely to be realised. We illustrate our argument via studies of sustainability, a favoured topic of Žižekean, critical, and mainstream scholars alike.</p>}},
author = {{Coffin, Jack and Egan-Wyer, Carys}},
issn = {{0267-257X}},
keywords = {{capitalism; Capitalist corruption; critical marketing; fetish; ideological fantasy; sustainability; unconscious; Žižek}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{44563}},
pages = {{48--70}},
publisher = {{Westburn Publishers}},
series = {{Journal of Marketing Management}},
title = {{De-romanticising critical marketing theory : capitalist corruption as the Left’s Žižekean fantasy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2021.1996445}},
doi = {{10.1080/0267257X.2021.1996445}},
volume = {{38}},
year = {{2022}},
}