Capitalism & Self-Expression
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Alison Phipps: Neoliberalism, which developed first in the United States and then rapidly in Western Europe, is premised on the absolute freedom of capitalist markets and trading relationships which was a central tenet of classical liberal thinking, but has cascaded these principles into the social realm with a central assumption that societies function best with a minimum of state intervention. [15]
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When we were still operating as an industrial economy, bodies were employed as labor. Identity in that time did not look like it does today. Since we have transitioned into a post-industrial economy, we have seen a rise in the "targeting of consumers according to lifestyle, taste and culture." [16] The shift from situating identity in the workplace, which was part of the production chain, to the marketplace where each individual is emphasized as a consumer drives the idea of consumer culture as though consumption is key to self-expression. This means that advertising now shapes identity, value, and the body.
Neoliberalist ideology promotes a view of the individual as economic actors who are autonomous. In conjunction with other agendas, contemporary social and political problems are posed as "individual issues with consumption-based solutions." [17] As a result, the individual chooses a brand to incorporate as identity and expresses oneself through fashion choices, political campaigns, owning goods, and consuming media products.