Book review analysis and evaluation

¶ … Capitalism

The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism

David Bell's book, "The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism" has drawn criticism and praise from different camps. The "contradiction" that Bell expresses stems from the idea that capitalism exists through thriftiness, industriousness, and the denial of material gratification until the future. However, one of the key concepts surrounding capitalism is that success produces abundance of material goods, more chances for leisure, and freedom from wants. This contradiction is the key topic of Bell's book.

When reading Bells' book, it is important to keep in mind that it was written in the early 1970s, shortly following the social upheaval of the 1960s. Bell was trying to make sense of these new social changes and what they meant for the newly emerging society. Bell stressed the importance of culture, rather than religion as the basis for society. He states, "today culture has clearly become supreme (Bell, p. 431). Bell stressed the economic principle of rationality as defined in terms of efficiency in the allocation of resources. However, he also claimed that culture is dominated by irrationality. These two principles contradict each other.

Bell can be viewed as a cultural critic. Bell begins his journey to the present in the 16th century, when European capitalists found a new religion. This group began to equate godliness with working hard in order to make more money. Money began to be seen as an outward sign of success on the spiritual realm as well. A person was thought to be blessed for their works if they achieved success. Therefore, the precepts of capitalism, which included delayed gratification, enterprise and self-denial. If one considers this argument, it would appear as if Bell were correct in his analysis of capitalism as a contradiction that could not sustain itself due to this very contradiction.

Predictions

The main principle in Bell's work is difficult to find fault. It appears that there is a contradiction as far as capitalism is concerned. However, Bell made several predictions that did not prove to be true. For instance, he felt that the government would become increasing involved in the free market and that it would attempt to fix the inequalities of the capital system. This meant that there would be a leveling of the classes.

Bell predicted that there would be a movement towards state-managed societies. This, he predicted would diminish the importance of the free market. He did not say that this would be the end of capitalism and a movement towards socialism, but it is not difficult to see these undertones in his work. This did not happen, and today the divisions between the classes continue to grow farther apart. Instead of diminishing in importance, the capital market system continues to expand to other cultures around the globe.

A second prediction by Bell was that there would be a greater movement towards the need for entitlements, in other words, instant gratification. In a quest for continued economic growth and entitlements, inflation would become the means to achieve this new goal. As people began to seek more entitlements in an environment of inflation, Bell predicted that capitalism would be weakened. However, inflation did not become a permanent fixture of the capitalistic society, and the economy continues to grow without it. Inflation goes up and then cycles down again, but it did not follow the pattern predicted by Bell.

One of the reasons for Bell's error in his predictions regarding the weakening of capitalism is that in the mid-1970s, he could not possibly see the role that technology would play in making the market more efficient. Technology became a driving force in the growth of the market by the introduction of many new products. Computers could be used to move goods and to provide services. This increased the marketplace even more. Capitalism grew and gained strength, rather than diminish as Bell predicted. Technology was a key factor in the ability of the markets to continue to expand.

Bell predicted that there would be a world government as the rewards of the capital market collapsed. This has not come to pass in the terms that were described by Bell, but there has been a drastic movement towards unification and the formation of stronger global alliances. When Bell made these predictions, he sounded more like a religious zealot than the sociologist that he proclaimed to be.

Bell's predictions about the fall of socialism due to its inability to provide for the common person were correct. He also saw that America's want of more material things would lead to the inability to agree on matters of public morality. The fall of the former Soviet Union can be viewed as the ultimate statement of support for Bell's predictions. However, America did not collapse and retains as strong sense of morality. The Enron scandal caused massive outrage at corruption in American corporations.

It appears that there is still a consensus and a clear line that cannot be crossed in our actions, whether they are individual or involve a corporation. America still has a strong sense of collective morals. Throughout his work, Bell seemed to demonstrate a dual personality. He would follow rational theoretical discussions based on sociological principles with wild predictions about what the future world would look like. Some of these wild predictions came to pass, at least in a small way, but the world in no way resembles the one the Bell pained.

Bell used examples and theory as the basis for his arguments. One can find examples in modern society that tend to support his arguments about America's inability to come to a consensus on moral issues, he used the example of when Time Warner dropped its association with gansta rap by severing its association with Interscope Records. MCA quickly picked up this recording label, regardless of its unseemly reputation. This was seen as a sign of America's inability to decide on its underlying principles. Bell used cases and examples the supported his arguments, regardless of how wild they might be. However, Bell failed to mention cases that did not fit his scenario. Bell supported his argument, but failed to defend it against the counter position. This represents a key flaw in Bell's argument. This error of omission weakens Bell's argument significantly.

Bell's arguments were not completely unsupported, but relied heavily on his own theories regarding the capital market. His predictions had their basis in his theoretical arguments. Bell felt the capitalism would produce an increasing lust for the finer things in life and the want for greater leisure. It is difficult to look at modern icons such as Martha Stewart and argue Americans have grown even fonder of their material possession and a quest for the good life. Martha Stewart even made a theme out of the "good things" and simple pleasures that make out lives easier to digest.

At first glance, it is easy to look at Bells' arguments and predictions and dismiss them, as many have done. However, when one looks closer they can find evidence that some of them have come true, at least in part. For example, as Martha Stewart promotes the good life based on simple pleasures and time for leisure, the American workforce has become workaholics in an attempt to achieve the good life. As the workweek gets longer, they are finding less and less time to enjoy the good life that is being shown as the preferable way to live. Martha Stewart's promotion of the "good life" characterized by leisure is driven by promotion of her own name brands and stores such as Michael's Crafts, where one can buy everything they need to create the "good life" as depicted on the television show. When one looks at the example of Martha Stewart, it is easy to distinguish all of the major elements of Bell's arguments about the contradictions of capitalism.