Love – there are few things which are as omnipresent as this phenomenon. Love is on the one hand the central heating in our universe, the feeling that gives sense to our life. On the other hand it is the source for jealousy and hate. In the search-engine google are more than eight trillion entries for the word love. In music, literature and movies again and again we are confronted with the success or failure of love – throughout the whole history. There are no real borders for the usage. You can love your fatherland, work, car, god, animals, music, chocolate and even capitalism. Some people fall in love on Friday like The Cure, other people’s business is loving wisdom (philosophers). In western societies it is used in dimensions, as it was never before the case in history. Asking people about the relationship of love and capitalism many requests claim that they have nothing to do with each other or even that they are contradictory. This leads us to an interesting point, because our economic system – capitalism – tries permanently to make use of other spheres and even, according to Polanyi, subordinates them.
This paper aims to analyze the relationship of love and capitalism and to show something similar Marx did with the commodity: that love is influenced by the conditions of society (especially economy) and that its magic is one that is socially constructed. The thesis is, according to Polanyi’s great transformation, that love experienced a great transformation: at least at part was love freed up by capitalism from moral and normative chains, love has become a market and capitalism subordinated love to the economy. The analysis concentrates due to the limited frame on the western culture and on heterosexual love. Furthermore the paper is more descriptive then normative; the aim is not the critic of a specific concept of love but to find out how capitalism and love interact with each other and whether one system is subordinated to the other.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 What is Love?
2.1 The Essence of Love
2.2 The Romantic Utopia
3 Capitalism and Love
3.1 Comparison of Capitalism and the Romantic Utopia
3.2 Consumption of the Romantic Utopia and Romantizisation of Commodities
3.2.1 Romantizisation of Commodities
3.2.2 Consuming the Romantic Utopia
3.3 Love’s Subsumption under Capitalism: The development of Marriage Markets
3.3.1 The transformation in the ecology of choice
3.3.2 The transformation in the architecture of choice
4 Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
The primary objective of this work is to analyze the complex relationship between love and capitalism, examining how the economic system influences the social construction of romantic relationships. It explores whether love has been subordinated to the economy, effectively treating partner selection as a market-driven process.
- The social construction of love and romantic utopias.
- The commodification of romantic experiences and products.
- The impact of capitalism on the "ecology" and "architecture" of choice.
- The emergence of "marriage markets" as a modern social phenomenon.
Excerpt from the Book
3.3.1 The transformation in the ecology of choice
As we saw, the success of the romantic love was to make it possible to choose a partner individually irrespective of social and moral rules; religious, ethnic, racial and class specific endogamy rules broke down. Through the 20st century it came furthermore to a sexualization and psychologization by adding the criteria of sexyness. In 19th century women were attractive because of their beauty. Beauty did not just mean physical attractiveness but also the integrity of the moral character. Sexualization means that the sexyness of a person came to the fore and was introduced as a new characteristic. Sexyness means that men and women got a sexual identity consisting of codes regarding body, language and clothes, which aim to evocate sexual desirability. How did this happen?
The new ethic of consumptionism that encouraged the buying of goods brought forward also a growing acceptance of pleasure, wish-fulfillment and satisfaction, a perspective that was easily transferable to sexuality. Hence, consumptionism connected with the normative legitimation of sexuality, which was demanded by the sexual revolution movement of feminism and gay’s, therefore sexyness could evolve.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Defines the phenomenon of love and sets the thesis that love has undergone a "great transformation" by becoming subordinated to capitalistic market structures.
2 What is Love?: Examines the biological and psychological nature of love while highlighting that romantic love is a socially constructed ideal.
3 Capitalism and Love: Analyzes the interplay between economic structures and romantic life, focusing on consumption, marriage markets, and the commodification of partner selection.
4 Conclusion: Summarizes the transformation of love into an economic object, concluding that the modern partner-selection process leads to alienation and the potential erosion of solidarity.
Keywords
Love, Capitalism, Economic Anthropology, Romantic Utopia, Commodification, Marriage Markets, Ecology of Choice, Architecture of Choice, Erotic Capital, Person Fetishism, Social Construction, Modernity, Partner Selection, Consumptionism, Liminal Rituals
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work investigates the interrelation between romantic love and the capitalist economic system, arguing that love is not an isolated sphere but is significantly shaped by economic conditions.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
Key themes include the history of romantic love, the role of media and consumption in shaping romance, the evolution of dating into marriage markets, and the psychological impact of seeing partners as commodities.
What is the main research question or thesis?
The thesis posits that, following Polanyi’s "great transformation," capitalism has effectively liberated love from traditional moral constraints only to subordinate it to the economy, turning partner selection into a market-based activity.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The paper utilizes a descriptive approach, drawing on social theories from Karl Polanyi, Karl Marx, and Eva Illouz to interpret cultural and historical developments in romantic practices.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the distinction between emotion and feeling, the rise of the romantic utopia, the commodification of commodities through romantic imagery, and the transformation of the decision-making process in choosing partners.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Relevant keywords include love, capitalism, commodification, marriage markets, and the social construction of romantic intimacy.
How does the author define the "ecology of choice"?
The ecology of choice refers to the societal frameworks and cultural conditions—such as the decline of endogamy rules—that dictate the possibilities and constraints individuals face when selecting a romantic partner.
What is meant by "person fetishism" in the context of this book?
Person fetishism is a concept derived from commodity fetishism, describing how individuals are increasingly perceived as objects with specific "attributes" or "qualities" that can be traded, rather than as unique human beings.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2012, Love’s Great Transformation: The Clash of Love and Capitalism, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/907045
