Consent and Consumption of Spectacle Power and Violence

This article focuses on the facilitation, consent and consumption of state violence, as an aspect of the state’s hegemonic control in the current stage of neoliberal capitalism. We suggest that the commoditized symbols of state violence are a part of everyday life for millions within the United Stat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCritical sociology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 15 - 28
Main Authors Rothe, Dawn L., Collins, Victoria E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2018
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Capitalism
Consent
Consumerism
Consumption
Criminology
Everyday life
Hegemony
Ideology
National security
Nationalism
Neoliberalism
Political violence
Power
Production consumption relationship
Violence
critical sociology
spectacle
state violence
consumption
neoliberalism
critical criminology
consent
commodification
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Summary:This article focuses on the facilitation, consent and consumption of state violence, as an aspect of the state’s hegemonic control in the current stage of neoliberal capitalism. We suggest that the commoditized symbols of state violence are a part of everyday life for millions within the United States and are embedded within ideologies of nationalism–national security, supported and reinforced through consumerism. The consumption (figuratively and literally) within the confines of neoliberalism is disconnected from the actual course of state violence, facilitating their own pacification while giving consent to hegemonic control. In this sense, the population’s consumption becomes more than pacification and consent, but rather an active constituent in the production and reproduction of state violence: making it the accepted and banal violence of the spectacle.
ISSN:0896-9205
1569-1632
DOI:10.1177/0896920515621119