Sign in or register
for additional privileges

East Asian Youth Cultures Spring 2015

Globalized Identities, Localized Practices, and Social Transitions

Dwayne Dixon, Author
Neoliberalism, page 1 of 10
Previous page on path     Next page on path

Other paths that intersect here:

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Burden of the Individual

Consumption has become a prime mover. Increasingly, it is the factor, the principle, held to determine definitions of value, the construction of identities, and even the shape of the global ecumene.


 –Jean & John Comaroff


Ever since the 1980s,  ‘teens’ emerged as a consumer category with its own distinctive, characterized, internationally marketable culture. More so than ever, ‘youth’ as a category gained unprecedented autonomy as a social category, especially as a separate class from the normative world of work and wage (Jean & John Comaroff). We also know that neoliberalism inherently favors some and not others. It can include and marginalize populations; it can produce more products yet decrease jobs; above all it can promise riches and perceived success to those that can master, but strip away the vitality of those that can’t. The construction of one’s identity, then, is commodified, and increasingly measured by the capacity to transact and consume (Jean & John Comaroff). Individual interest, self-improvement, and development of one’s social and literal capital, becomes a symptom of neoliberalism. The more people can shape and customize their lives, the more that can be sold and consumed by the individual.


Thus, the transfer of responsibility from the state to the individual is complete. Youth, in the postwar generation, assume the burden of increasing his/her own capacity. They are drawn into a world of luxury, promises, and hope but at the expense of one’s self-improvement. They are told that self worth can be enhanced materialistically, but only if they have what it takes. It is no longer the state’s responsibility to provide adequate healthcare or social programs for development, but up to the individual to provide for the self. 


Sources:


Comaroff, J., and J. L. Comaroff. "Millennial Capitalism: First Thoughts on a Second Coming." Public Culture 12.2 (2000): 291-343. Web.


Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Burden of the Individual"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Neoliberalism, page 1 of 10 Next page on path

Related:  Case Study: The Use of Dialect in the Rise of the Cantonese Hip-Hop SceneEconomicsGlobalization & Neo-liberal Commodification of Youth IdentityYouth as a Site of Moral PanicPrecarious Work and Flow of culture between bordersPostmodern Korea: Self-Actualization and the Transfer of ResponsibilityGlocalization of Hip-Hop within East AsiaJapan's Recession: Blaming the VictimWorth of the BodyThe Normalization of Cosmetic Surgery in South Korea: Investment in Self-Development & Women as Consumer BodiesCommodification of the Intellectual on Neoliberal Youth DevelopmentThe Gendered Impact of Neoliberalism and the Patriarchy in JapanUtilization of Social Capital by Precarious YouthEducation and its Effects on the Development of East Asian Youth CultureNeoliberalismHip-Hop's Role in Chinese Youth CultureEducation in Taiwan: Set for FailurePrecarious RelationshipsTensions Between Workers & Market/SocietyEnjo KosaiAlternatives to the Ideal Path: Precarious Labor for Chinese MigrantsSuicide in East AsiaOffline Third Spaces: Anime Conventions as Sites of DesireThe Normalization/Homogenization of an 'Ideal' Beauty Standard: Capitalist Strategy & GlobalizationContextualizing Hip-Hop in Japan and Its Role in Youth CultureIntersection of Neoliberalism and Precarious LaborA Brief History on Hip-HopFreetersLesqueEducational Pressures: Ijime, Truancy, and the Rise of Suicide