From "deception of the masses" of the critical theory to the "undefined neighborhood" of Bauman

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2019-1374-57

Keywords:

Social networks, culture industry, Critical Theory, mass deception, Liquid post-modernity, voluntary servitude

Abstract

Introduction. Contrary to the attribution to the communicative progress of a politically democratizing imperative, Bauman, in his posthumous Retrotopia, describes the Internet as an individualistic flow of expansive self-reproduction that forms a “global undefined neighbourhood" of “voluntary servitude”. Method. Phenomenological analysis of Bauman's diagnosis by reviewing his works. Once the perspective of the "undefined neighbourhood was adopted", an examination was conducted on whether the trends of the Internet can be interpreted as egalitarian mass consumerism or as an imperatively democratizing force. Results. The proposal that the interindividual global communication network creates a widespread "voluntary servitude" deserves to be considered in empirical research projects as a testable hypothesis. Discussion. The ecumenical network of prosumers that constitutes the "undefined neighbourhood" in liquid globalization needs to be visible in all social spheres as well as in the market. Conclusions. The condition for establishing a relationship between critical and empirical theory is circular: it requires describing "visibility" by quantitative means as the sum of individual choices.

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Author Biographies

Luis Núñez Ladevéze, San Pablo CEU University

Doctor of Law. Standby professor at UCM. Professor emeritus at USP-CEU where he directed the Institute of Democratic Studies. Coordinator of the Doctorate Program in Social Communication. He was an advisor on the Council of Coordination between Universities. Founder and president of the editorial board of the journal Doxa Comunicación. Professor Núñez Ladevéze belongs to the boards of twenty other journals, and he presides over the Association of Researchers on Communication and Childhood.

http://www.infanciaycomunicacion.org.

He has accumulated six 6-year terms conducting research recognized by ANECA; five projects of the National Plan for R&D in the last decade. Author of an extensive academic bibliography including articles in the Latin Journal of Social Communication (Revista Latina de Comunicación Social), the Journal of Political Studies (Revista de Estudios Políticos), REIS, and books published through CEPC, Tecnos, Ariel, Alianza Editorial, Akal, Tirant lo Blanch, and Síntesis.

Tamara Vázquez Barrio, San Pablo CEU University

Doctor of Law from CEU San Pablo University. Faculty of the International Doctorate Program in Social Communication of the CEU International Doctorate Institute (CEINDO). She directs the following line of research: communication, the public sphere, and citizenship. Principal Investigator of the project CSO2016-74980-C2-1-R, “From mass culture to social networks: media convergence in the digital society” (AEI/FEDER, UE). Researcher on projects of the National Plan, as well as on PROVULDIG (CAM H2015/HUM-3434_20160405), funding by CAM (Autonomous Region of Madrid) for projects of university research groups of Madrid who study the topic of vulnerable audiences. Research member of the CEICIN group. Publications in El profesional de la información, Comunicar, Comunicación y Sociedad, Trípodos, Mediaciones sociales, Telos, and Doxa Comunicación.

Ignacio Álvarez de Mon Pan de Soraluce, University of Salamanca

Doctor of Political Science and Sociology from the University of Salamanca.

His lines of research include leadership and social entrepreneurship. He has participated in several competitive projects, and has been published in the following journals: Doxa Comunicación, Empresa y Humanismo, Harvard Deusto Business Review, and Revista de Icade. Visiting professor at Ashridge Business School in London, England; Porto Business School in Porto, Portugal; and the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Author of numerous case studies, as well as the following books: Social Entrepreneurs (Emprendedores Sociales, Lid Editorial); The Challenge of Finding Contentment (El Desafío de la Felicidad, LID Publishers); Eduardo, you’re fired (Eduardo, estás despedido, Alienta, Grupo Planeta); It depends on you (De ti depende, Lid Publishers).

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Published

2019-07-03

How to Cite

Núñez Ladevéze, Luis, Tamara Vázquez Barrio, and Ignacio Álvarez de Mon Pan de Soraluce. 2019. “From "deception of the masses" of the critical theory to the ‘undefined neighborhood’ of Bauman”. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, no. 74 (July):1114-31. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2019-1374-57.

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Section

Miscellaneous