Consent and Consumption of Spectacle Power and Violence
Department
Justice Studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2018
Abstract
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.
Recommended Citation
Rothe, D. L., & Collins, V. E. (2018). Consent and Consumption of Spectacle Power and Violence. Critical Sociology (Sage Publications, Ltd.), 44(1), 15-28. doi:10.1177/0896920515621119
Journal Title
Critical Sociology