Bullied by Commodity

”For the private individual, the place of dwelling is for the first time opposed to the place of work.” (8)

Being contemporary individuals, it is easy for us to see where you work and where you live as being distinctly separate. In fact, sometimes we may feel as if the interrelationship between work and living spaces and “communal living” are new ideas. However, looking at this reading in more depth, I find myself realizing the obvious. Life was always about communal living and working where you lived, and things such as the city, the arcade, the eventual development of the mall, and even the industrial revolution all really changed the way that relationship worked. We always think of all those things and their impact on society and economy and the general growth of the world, but we never seem to think about it on the level of how the work/live relationship was drastically altered.

I find it very intriguing that although the world may seem to be heading in the direction of developed communities with individuals constantly being “individuals” and living private, restricted lives, the architecture profession seems to be heading in the direction of communal; sustainable; working to live, not living to work direction. Maybe it is just those with the “global warming” save the world mentalities, but it seems to make perfect sense to me; especially if the world could operate so smoothly for so long with these things we call “commodities” why do we need them.

This brings us to the emergence of the “entertainment industry” with all its glamour and commodity; commodity being the primary selling point. I understand the point of “commodities,” and that is the only thing I can really say. I don’t know how to argue against them, because as we had said in our last discussion, we all still shop at Wal-mart and Target, even if with disagree with the overall idea. Why is that? Is it because of commodity? That said, I really want to touch on what Alex mentioned in response to this reading. If technology is the thing we remember and commodities come and go and are forgotten, why are we allowing ourselves to be bullied by commodity? Why do we let commodities dictate and influence everything we are doing, when past experience has taught us that technology is where the real lasting influence lies?