| The phenomenon of cultural commodification in human society has existed for a long time and has changed the face of human society in the process of its development.The 21 st century is an era of cultural commodification,and therefore requires a scientific understanding of the essence,history,foundations of social existence,the dynamics of development and the impact on human society of the phenomenon of cultural commodification from a Marxist materialist view of history.Culture is the whole of human spiritual activity and its products.In the materialist-historical perspective,culture is characterised by objectivity,innovation and asymmetry of utility.In economic societies,the commodity becomes the basic vehicle for the existence and development of culture.The commodification of culture is based on the production of spirituality,in the form of a socialised division of labour,and for the purpose of market exchange to meet the spiritual needs of consumers.The culturalisation of commodities gives cultural meaning and content to commodities in general,increasing their exchange efficiency on the market and adding cultural value.The commercialisation of culture and the culturalisation of commodities is gradually becoming the main mode of existence of culture,manifesting itself in the rapid development of cultural industries.Cultural industries have both social and economic benefits due to their social production methods and cultural characteristics.The development of the commercialisation of culture ultimately depends on the development of different modes of social production,levels of productivity and relations of production at different stages of history.From the pre-industrial period,with its natural economy,to the rapid development of capitalist societies during the period of great industry,to the contemporary knowledge economy,with its combination of information technology and knowledge,the historical logic of the development of cultural commodification in the West has developed along with industrialisation,information technology and the capitalist mode of production,and in the process has taken on a rationalised and secularised character.The level and form of material production in society determines the level and form of development of culture as a superstructure.Socialised mass production,characterised by flowing production lines and cluster production,has brought about the cultural industry.The cultural industry makes culture mechanically reproducible and homogenous.The information,intelligent and networked knowledge economy,through the symbolic production of the mass media,thus generates new economic growth points.The technological revolution has given impetus to the expansion of the scale of production,which in turn has led to the extensive development of the division of labour and collaboration in production,and to a further increase in the socialisation of production,which ultimately and inevitably leads to a change in the relations of production.This change in relations of production also brought about the global commodification of culture,and the global expansion of cultural commodities further influenced the development of relations of production and had a transformative impact on the global economic landscape.The role played by the expansion of capital in social production makes it the driving force behind the commodification of culture.Capital is the social power that dominates surplus labour,and this power acts as a ’driving force’ in the production of cultural commodities and the production of culturally meaningful commodities.The commodification of culture enters the social system because of the expansionist nature of capital,which is widespread and works in the economic,political and cultural social systems.But this impetus did not only lead to a major cultural development,with cultural commodities becoming the ’protagonists’ of social and cultural life,but also to the ’alienation’ of culture itself,and as a result of this’ alienation’ "The expansion of capital itself is also in crisis.The human being is both the producer and the worker of cultural goods,and at the same time the object of their influence,a characteristic of being both subject and object.On the one hand,the cost of producing and distributing cultural goods is decreasing extremely rapidly,lifestyles are becoming more civilised,and people’s spiritual lives are being enriched.On the other hand,commercial lifestyles have become mainstream,fetishism has emerged,and the principle of commodity exchange has expanded without bottom line in the spiritual realm of man.The commercialisation of culture is an inevitable trend in history,and China’s cultural industry has developed in a tortuous manner,from a cultural enterprise to a’two-wheel drive’ development of cultural enterprises and cultural industries.Drawing on the experience of historical development,we can see that the effective use of capital is the inevitable way to develop the cultural industry,bringing into play the socialist system’s control of capital to balance the relationship between the social attributes of the cultural industry and the expansion of capital,and realising the dialectical unity of social and economic benefits;cultural exchange from the rationality of interaction,activating Chinese culture with the cultural industry,and constantly enhancing the people’s awareness of their historical subject status.The development of traditional Chinese culture,revolutionary culture and socialist culture should be incorporated into the ecology of cultural industry development in the wave of the times of cultural development.The effective use of capital to activate cultural vitality and creativity and to tap into the rich and fertile resources of Chinese culture is an important path to meet the people’s pursuit of a better life and to enhance the country’s cultural soft power. |
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