De-romanticising critical marketing theory: capitalist corruption as the Left’s Žižekean fantasy

Jack Coffin, Carys Egan-Wyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Following Slavoj Žižek, critical marketing scholars have interrogated the ideological fantasies of mainstream marketing, de-romanticising markets and marketing. However, Žižek argues there is no ideology-free subject, so it stands to Žižekean reason that critical marketing scholars are also ideological fantasists. Our paper seeks to de-romanticise critical marketing theory by identifying the fantasy of capitalist corruption. This sustains the ideology of critical marketing theory by disavowing (self-)destructive desires within the human unconscious and suggesting that displacing capitalism will be enough to usher in a postcapitalist utopia. This ideological fantasy has therapeutic, motivational, and institutional benefits, but romanticises the human subject in ways that ultimately frustrate the critical project of societal betterment. By acknowledging the human unconscious as a corrupting influence, we hope to make critical aspirations more likely to be realised. We illustrate our argument via studies of sustainability, a favoured topic of Žižekean, critical, and mainstream scholars alike.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)48-70
JournalJournal of Marketing Management
Volume38
Issue number44563
Early online date2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Economics and Business

Free keywords

  • capitalism
  • Capitalist corruption
  • critical marketing
  • fetish
  • ideological fantasy
  • sustainability
  • unconscious
  • Žižek

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