What is it about?
Springing from an Academy of Marketing special session in Liverpool, UK, this special section of "Marketing Theory" brings together four hard-punching commentaries on marketing as a context, force, system, ideology and philosophy of and for mystification. We are sure you will thoroughly enjoy this set of sharp commentaries. Full-text PDF available via ResearchGate.
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Why is it important?
We can go on merrily believing that marketing is just another simple-minded social process of the contemporary world... or we can "grab the bull by the horns", as these commentaries do, and start exploring marketing as a force of and for mystification.
Perspectives
I am particularly thrilled by the opportunity to feature the brilliant philosophy-based commentary of Romain Laufer, drawing from the ancient debates about sophists, in this special section. The journal "Marketing Theory" (MT) was very kind to invite us to develop this special section. I want to especially thank MT-editor Pauline Maclaran for her perspicacious thinking on key issues of Marketing theory. BTW: Full-text PDF available via ResearchGate.
Dr Nikhilesh Dholakia
University of Rhode Island
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Marketing as mystification, Marketing Theory, August 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1470593115619971.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Google Scholar Page: Nikhilesh Dholakia
Explore more critical works from this scholar via this link.
Google Scholar Page: Rohit Varman
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DQQJdb8AAAAJ
Google Scholar Page: A. Fuat FIRAT
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gQKR6HUAAAAJ&hl=en
Homepage: Dominique Bouchet
Brilliant sociological-anthropological insights on various aspects, including mystifying ones, of marketing and consumption... in the works of this eminent scholar.
HEC Homepage: Romain Laufer
Learn more about Professor Romain Laufer via this page.
LinkedIn Page: Ilona Mikkonen
Explore more research -- provocative and enjoyable -- from author Ilona Mikkonen of Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.
Research Portal: James Freund
Research portal of this author at Lancaster University Business School.
Research Portal: Erik Jacobi
Research portal of this author at Lancaster University Business School.
Google Scholar Page: Erik Jacobi
Other publications by this author, via this portal.
The Sophists: SEP [Stanford] article
Taylor, C.C.W. and Lee, Mi-Kyoung, "The Sophists", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2015/entries/sophists/>.
The Sophists: Pop-Philosophical View
Quote: "The Sophists were very good speakers. Indeed, they had reputations for being able to convince a crowd that up was down, that day was night, that the wrong answer could be the right answer, that good was bad and bad is good, even that injustice is justice and justice would be made to appear as injustice! "
The Sophists: U of Notre Dame
Quote: "...Sophism ... directed attention to the subjective element in human knowledge. In fact, it made the subjective element everything in knowledge; it reduced truth to the level of opinion, and made man the measure of all things."
Inequality: Piketty simplified
New Yorker article summarizes key aspects of Piketty's book on Capitalism in 21st Century.
Inequality: Stiglitz
"The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future" is a 2012 book by Economics Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz that deals with income inequality in the United States.
Inequality: Atkinson
A review of the book on inequality by Anthony Atkinson.
Inequality: Ariely
A video depiction of the interesting Ariely study, cited on this 'Marketing Theory' paper.
Inequality: George F. Will [The Conservative Angle]
In this column, George F. Will celebrates the views of "John Tamny, a one-man antidote to economic obfuscation and mystification... a Forbes editor, editor of RealClearMarkets..." Tamny believes the best way ahead is to make the wealthy wealthier... they can consume only so much, and the rest they will employ in the clever ways that generates more economic activity... !!!!! [These exclamation marks are from the MT authors, who are gaping aghast, mystified]
Mystification: Bertell Ollman [NYU site]
Bertell Ollman essay that shows that mystification, in oft-covert ways, is essential for market capitalism to function.
Mystification: Roderick Long [neo-anarchist view]
A complex, multi-pronged position. Small quote: "Most government policies and successful political movements, even if marketed and widely interpreted as anti-big-business (e.g. the Progressive Movement, the New Deal, the Wagner Act, the Great Society, the current Democratic administration, and most policies labeled “regulation” or “taxation”) or as anti-big-government (e.g. the Reagan Revolution, the Thatcher Revolution, the 1994 Republican Revolution, the most recent Republican administration, and most policies labeled “deregulation” or “privatisation”) serve to advance the interests and power of both big government and big business at the expense of ordinary people, and are, in the main, demonstrably selected for that reason."
Mystification: Zizek
The unique, irrepressible Zizek distinguishes here between neoliberal and fascist forms of mystification.
Mystification: Review Essay by S. Faber
Author reviews major exponents of ideology and mystification concepts, pointing to the problematic nature of these concepts.
Mystification: Eagleton
This link provides a full PDF of the classic book on ideology (and the closely related concept of mystification) by Terry Eagleton.
Mystification: The Role of Framing
A lucidly written document, from an LGBT advocacy group, on how framing can mystify, and demystify, key social-political issues.
Mystification: Hollywood and Gays
A discussion on how Hollywood (typically) treats gay theme.
Coca-Cola Rhetoric: Ted Friedman
Analysis of the "World of Coca-Cola" museum.
Coca-Cola Rhetoric: Critical Art@ MOMA, Tate
Using art to critique commerce and culture is not new... this one takes on Coke.
Coca-Cola Rhetoric: Views of a brand expert
A branding expert discusses how big iconic brands, like Coke, "become an ideology" [Authors in this MT section would probably not use the last phrase]
Coca-Cola Rhetoric: Zizek, again
The mercurial, irrepressible and oft-brilliant Zizek offers his views here.
Coca-Cola Rhetoric: Kooijman
The entire book "Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Culture" is available here.... and of course Coke is featured.
Mystification and Framing: Druckman
To advance the work on marketing and mystification, it may be useful to look into vast literature on political framing (and manipulation, or not, resulting from it)... This scholar is a major force in such work.
Mystification vs. Mystery: John Berger
Art critic John Berger is one of the foremost exponents of the distinctions between myth, mystery, and mystification... in the worlds of art.
Mystification and Heresthetic: Political Manipulation
Read this short introduction to the idea of heresthetic methods of strategic political manipulation.
Research Stream: Pauline Maclaran
Introduction to the wide-ranging and very insightful research publications of the editor of 'Marketing Theory'.
ResearchGate Page: Nikhilesh Dholakia
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
ResearchGate Page: A. Fuat FIRAT
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
ResearchGate Page: Ilona Mikkonen
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
ResearchGate Page: James Freund
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
ResearchGate Page: Rohit Varman
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
ResearchGate Page: Romain Laufer
Many of this author's publications available via this page.
Inequality: California [The Guardian]
Guardian article on inequality in California. Issues of raising minimum wage, the obscene cost of living in Bay Area, and … a firestorm of reader comments... many patterns of "mystification" evident, particularly in the comments part
FULL TEXT: At ResearchGate
Full PDF text accessible via this link.
Zwick & Bradshaw: Zizek, Ideology, Marketing
Detlev Zwick and Alan Bradshaw draw in key concepts from Zizek and other social theorists to show how ideology, in the context of marketing and social media, is now in-your-face, rather than always obfuscating.
ImpactStory Page: Nikhilesh Dholakia
Provides multiple metrics about this author's research.
Agnotology: Robert N. Proctor
A powerful new term for mystification, "agnotology", was coined by Robert Proctor. It refers to the (deliberate) cultural production of ignorance. This links to the key chapter on agnotology.
Agnotology: In Brexit rhetoric
Column on use of agnotology-style mystification employed by the "Leave EU" Brexit campaign.
Inequality: The Elephant Chart
An elephant-shaped line chart from a relatively obscure World Bank paper on global inequality by Branko Milanovic has shot to prominence after the Leave vote in the Brexit poll; and in light of the wide popular appeal of Donald Trump.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
