(A) commodity culture is the humanistic value contained in commodities.
This humanistic value contains three meanings:
First of all, it embodies the humanistic concern for consumers' emotional demands in the process of consumption;
Secondly, it shows the artistic satisfaction of consumers' aesthetic taste in the process of consumption;
Third, it is a moral commitment to consumers to avoid risks in the process of consumption.
It is first manifested as an idea, a philosophy and a spirit, then materialized or personified in goods and services, and transferred to consumers with the exchange of goods, and finally proved its value in monetary form (of course, not limited to this).
Therefore, commodity culture is a commodity culture on the surface, but it is actually a cultural commodity. Commodity culture, that is, the humanistic value contained in commodities, all the attributes of commodities obtained by participating in the whole process of commodity production, exchange and consumption. Marx said: "before commodities can be realized as value, they must prove their use value, because the labor that human beings spend on commodities can only be counted if it is spent in a useful form for others." "Useful to others" means being able to meet the needs of consumers. This demand is divided into two kinds, one is physiological demand or material demand, and the other is psychological demand or cultural demand. Traditional commodity production and management often pay attention to the former and ignore the latter, resulting in structural imbalance of use value-use value is often only manifested as practical value, only to meet people's physiological needs in food, clothing and use. This one-sided understanding of consumer demand structure and misleading market demand information cause imbalance, and its direct consequence is the continuation or stagnation of commodity circulation process. The appearance and intervention of commodity culture has added "humanistic value" to the column of "practical value" of commodities, which constitutes a complete use value and makes the "usefulness" of commodities fully manifested. Therefore, in this sense, commodity culture is a special commodity produced by commodity owners to meet another important level of consumer demand in the consumption process, such as moral, emotional, aesthetic and other spiritual and cultural needs.
Commodity culture was born in the process of commodity production and exchange, and it is the inevitable product of upgrading consumer demand and deepening market competition. Of course, commodity culture is not limited to the conditions of modern market economy. Since the appearance of commodities, the cultural expression of commodities has been valued by commodity suppliers. Pottery in primitive society, bronzes in Shang Dynasty, textiles in Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and Jingdezhen porcelain in Ming and Qing Dynasties all represent the peak of craftsmanship in different historical periods, and at the same time, they also promote the artistic creation and appreciation level of each era to a new height. In commercial marketing, the rise of temple fairs in Song and Yuan Dynasties realized the trinity of religious activities, literary activities and commodity trading, which became a major feature of promoting commodity marketing through cultural forms in ancient China. Advertising, packaging and trademarks have always played a very important role in China's ancient commerce. "Excuse me, where is the restaurant? The shepherd boy refers to Xinghua Village. " This well-known poem vividly reflects the strong attraction of the cover to customers. The allusion of "returning pearls with gifts" in a certain sense shows that the packaging ("words") is more wonderful than the goods ("quality"). Trademarks sprout from the responsibility of craftsmen to make handmade products for the country. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the government ordered manufacturers to leave their names on each brick in order to investigate the quality responsibility. Some craftsmen use this to beautify their products intentionally or unintentionally. These factors not only greatly facilitate the circulation of commodities, but also make "culture" an inherent part of commodities.
However, the sporadic supply of commodity culture cannot make it the protagonist sought after by consumers in the consumer society. The real development and large-scale supply of commodity culture is the result of the rapid development of economy and society and the increasing demand for consumer culture. Celia Lurie once described in detail the characteristics of modern consumer society: having a large number of diverse consumer goods; The market makes human communication and communication develop in a more and more extensive direction; Shopping has been expanded as a way of leisure; Different forms of shopping are becoming more and more obvious; Consumer political groups composed of consumers appear; Increase in sports and leisure consumption; In the process of production, display and purchase of consumer goods, packaging and publicity play an increasingly important role; Advertising permeates freely in daily life; Pay more and more attention to the style, design and appearance of goods; Create a special space-time atmosphere to promote products ... and so on.
Lu Rui's description is obviously too trivial and general. However, through these phenomena listed by her, we can easily find some basic characteristics of the era of commodity culture: developed economy, abundant commodities, increased consumer choice and perceptual consumption, and more emphasis on aesthetic factors in commodities, services and the environment. "The use of goods is usually determined by the cultural environment", "Material goods are not only useful, but also meaningful", "In fact, they are useful, partly because they are meaningful. It is in the process of obtaining, using and exchanging goods that individuals gradually have a social life. " Fiske pointed out: "The complexity and subtlety of the role that commodities play in our culture is too easy to be simply handled by the concept of a' consumer society'. In a sense, all societies attach importance to commodities because their cultural significance far exceeds their practicality. " Many scholars regard "commodity culture" as "consumer culture", so they often regard the complicated and even chaotic commodity simulation images in the consumer society as their footnotes. Featherstone's analysis and description of the fair is representative. "They are not only places for commodity trading, but also display exotic commodities from all over the world in a festive atmosphere ... The fair provides spectacular effects, exotic commodity display, vague boundaries, and huge and chaotic scenes mixed with various sounds, motives, influences, people and animals." "Their exhibitions collect the elements of various carnival traditions, images and simulations of exotic landscapes and luxury landscapes ... The great illusion effect of various displayed goods is often transformed into the motivation of some capitalists and modernists to seek novelty and become the source of dream images." He believes that "the overproduction of symbols and the reproduction of images and simulations lead to the loss of fixed meaning and the aesthetic presentation of reality." The public is fascinated by this endless series of symbols and images and can't find any fixed connection. " There is no fixed meaning, which seems to be a feature of commodity culture. But in fact, through the colorful appearance of goods, we will find that the humanistic value of goods is not only the spread of images and simulations, but also the "cultural connection and illusion function" created and attached by advertisements. Commodity culture essentially has a relatively stable humanistic matrix. In real economic life, its forms of expression and personality temperament are often varied and colorful. Moreover, due to the changes of demand, transaction elements and diminishing marginal utility, commodity culture is always in the process of constantly bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new.
However, no matter how the carrier and manifestation of commodity culture change, the basic factors that constitute its humanistic characteristics remain unchanged. These basic factors are as follows:
First, the people-oriented spirit.
"Humanism" means respecting and caring for people. Humanized design, simple and convenient display, warm environment, pleasing items and even intimate advertising words all show the affinity of "people-oriented" with profound moral and emotional charm. Commodities, businessmen, environment, marketing, services and other trading elements, it is precisely because of this "love" that it appears cordial in front of consumers.
Second, aesthetic quality.
"Aesthetics" is the instinctive demand of human beings. The aesthetic development of goods and services in commercial activities is a remarkable sign that business is closer to consumers' perceptual needs. Designing and arranging goods and services according to the "law of beauty" to arouse consumers' aesthetic pleasure in the process of consumption is undoubtedly an effective way to maximize the utility of goods. Therefore, the provision of goods and services must conform to the aesthetic taste of consumers, and must be influenced, impressed and satisfied by the connotation, image and atmosphere of beauty, so as to realize the value of goods artistically. The injection of aesthetic quality not only makes the commodity circulation different from the "trivial cajoling and cheating" in the early capitalist period, but also makes it clearly visible from the boring and single means of "commodity supply" in the planned economy period.
Third, national characteristics.
Pang Pu pointed out: "The goods in the market are always presented with their birth characteristics, and careful customers often know their time and place of origin at a glance ... This is because any man-made unnatural things have the brand of times and regions, and all have the brand of local production methods, scientific and technological level, living habits, thinking patterns, religious feelings and aesthetic tastes at that time, indicating their time and place of origin." Excellent commodities also show a nation's traditional temperament and thinking level. On the one hand, it is full of traditional significance. In the process of commodity design and production, lines, shapes, proportions, patterns, colors, materials and structures all become cultural symbols that carry and express traditional elements. Through them, consumers can interpret the values, feelings and interests of specific nationalities and people, and generate rich cultural associations. Commodity culture, like cultural commodities, is also the satisfaction of consumers' cultural needs, so it must also reflect the values and feelings of the nation and the public as its basic connotation, and have the ability to reflect the feelings of the nation and show cultural diversity. On the other hand, it reflects the way of thinking and level. National characteristics are not only reflected by the traditional cultural elements carried by commodities, but also fully expressed by the national innovation ability reflected by commodities. Science and technology have no borders, but the intellectual property rights and new products formed from it undoubtedly represent the spiritual characteristics, mode of thinking and innovation level of the nation, so they will inevitably become an important carrier to show the national character and image. The formation of national characteristics makes the commodity part have the functions of cultural identity and cultural exchange, thus forming the core of commodity cultural value.
(2) The humanistic value of commodities must be based on practical value.
In modern business activities, shops and shop assistants are selling "commodity culture". But they can't put "commodity culture" on labels and price tags, put it on the shelves and sell it separately, but give it to buyers "by the way" through goods and services. In fact, consumers' consumption of commodity culture is also psychologically satisfied through the consumption of goods and services. People must eat "Quanjude Roast Duck" first, so that it is possible to savor the Beijing flavor culture contained in it; Only by enjoying Zhang Binggui's "fire" service can we realize the morality, emotion and beauty in this service. As a humanistic value, commodity culture must be materialized or personified in a series of trading elements such as commodities, environment, marketing, service, management and system, that is to say, it can come clean with the above trading elements as the carrier. In fact, the creation of commodity cultural value is a complex production activity.
First of all, it is characterized by a "beautiful" design.
All external elements of a commodity, such as shape, line, pattern, color, style, packaging and proportion, express the style and temperament beyond the use function of the commodity, and are the concrete means to reflect the national mass value, emotion, humanistic spirit and aesthetic quality carried by the commodity. Properly used, these methods can not only make the goods more beautiful and convenient, but also make the goods full of temperament and charm, and become the source of inducing association and satisfying psychological desires. Therefore, designers should be good at using aesthetic knowledge and skillfully transplant various cultural elements familiar to the nation and the public into their own objects according to the "law of beauty". "Cultural products are portable and grafted, and some of their elements, structures and attributes are decomposed and reconstructed, so that they can be integrated into material products and service products to form products with cultural content."
Second, it is manifested in the technological innovation of products.
The beauty of commodities first comes from the ability of commodities to meet the demand. It is technology that transforms material products into human service products, making people enjoy the practical functions of commodities more conveniently, casually and easily, and at the same time get more psychological satisfaction. In addition, how a nation uses science and technology to create wealth reflects its psychological structure and value orientation. The exquisiteness of German products, the lightness of Japanese products, the atmosphere of American products, the solidity of Russian products and the elegance of French products are almost all reflected in the cultural characteristics of products by combining the intelligence and emotion of different nationalities through the scientific and technological system. Therefore, the significance of scientific and technological innovation lies not only in improving R&D capabilities and practical functions of products, but also in embodying national psychology and wisdom. A pure original innovative product, because it better meets the needs of modern people and enhances their happiness, becomes the carrier and symbol to show the national image of the producing country. The scientific and technological content of the product itself represents the national innovation ability, wisdom characteristics and way of thinking, and also profoundly demonstrates the national cultural characteristics of the producing country.
Third, it is manifested in the perfusion and interpretation of the cultural significance of products by marketing activities such as advertising.
"Commodities freely undertake a wide range of cultural contact and illusion functions. Clever advertisements can take advantage of this and attach various images such as romance, rarity, desire, beauty, success, sameness, scientific progress and comfortable life to mediocre consumer goods such as soap, washing machines, motorcycles and alcoholic beverages. " Advertisements interpret commodities as a kind of text that unfolds "cultural connection and illusion". Because commodity culture does not directly and completely express its meaning in literary form like cultural commodities, many meanings are internal and metaphorical. Perhaps commodity producers themselves do not inject clear meaning into the form of commodities, but marketing activities such as advertising poetically endow ordinary and practical things with value, emotion and interest through cultural decoding and vitality infusion, thus stimulating consumers' motives, desires and fantasies derived from culture. In consumers' imagination and spiritual world, commodity is not an isolated object, but is inextricably linked with tradition, future and all beautiful things and realms.
Of course, unlike pure cultural and artistic works, the humanistic value of goods and services cannot be expressed independently on a solid basis without practical value. More appropriately, it can only be naturally extended from practical value.
First of all, this attachment must be natural and harmonious, and it is an organic arrangement made according to the characteristics of practical value of goods, which is logical and untraceable.
Secondly, this attachment must follow the principle of a certain amount. Humanistic values cannot be added at will.
Pang Pu pointed out: "The cultural value of goods does not exist outside the use value, and the two often form an inverse relationship: the greater the cultural value, the smaller the use value or potential; The greater the use value, the smaller the cultural value or potential. " Under the condition that the practical value of goods is certain, the humanistic value should be kept in an appropriate proportion with it. The equilibrium point of proportion moves with the change of demand. Commodities containing emotional culture must be an organic composition of humanistic value and practical value.
(C) the interaction between cultural needs and commodity culture
The cultural demand of consumers is the fundamental premise of commodity culture. What kind of cultural needs, there is what kind of commodity culture. With the increase of cultural demand, the additional proportion of commodity culture to the overall commodity value and use value is also increasing. Before the market competition is fully developed, more precisely, before the material needs of most consumers are fully met, the cultural needs are in a dormant stage, and the supply of commodity culture can only be sporadic and naturally accumulated. With the continuous improvement of productivity and increasing material wealth, the practical value of meeting physiological needs is no longer a top priority for consumers, so cultural needs will gradually prevail; Secondly, the improvement of the popularization level of cultural education and the deepening of cultural exchanges between countries will inevitably raise the cultural quality and aesthetic taste of consumers to a new height; More importantly, the externalization of commodities and their exchange relations under the conditions of market economy has aggravated the loneliness, depression and anxiety of modern people, making them more eager to get attention and consideration for humanity and beauty from commercial activities ... Therefore, under the above conditions, it is not difficult to imagine that commodities without humanistic value will not arouse consumers' desire to buy; A trading environment without humanistic value will make consumers escape; Marketing and services without humanistic value will make consumers feel humiliated; ..... In short, without humanistic value, all commodities and labor activities can't realize value. Therefore, when the level of consumer demand is raised to the level of spiritual culture, a commodity culture with conscious and purposeful supply is produced.
Commodity culture stimulates and evokes new cultural needs. The dependence of commodity cultural supply on cultural demand is stipulated by the law of market economy. However, it is not always passive, and even more active supply. As soon as McDonald's with the slogan of "selling culture" entered the streets of China, the exotic flavor and emotional appeal of hot hamburgers immediately conquered a large number of diners in this oriental food kingdom; After the famous Huaihai Road in Shanghai was carefully carved, the surging crowd suddenly found a new feeling different from the past under the huge banner of "Elegant Huaihai Road, the first street of commodity culture". Just as music can create ears to appreciate music, commodity culture not only meets the demand, but also stimulates and "evokes" the demand and creates consumers who can accept and "consume" themselves. This leading supply of commodity culture is often the decisive means of peer competition. Because it is ahead of innovation, the resulting market hotspots are not easy to be replaced by other things in a short time, and the excess profits obtained from it are often more than before. However, due to the limitations of consumers' psychological tolerance, adaptability and market forecasting ability, this kind of active supply is often manifested as a venture capital behavior. If the actively supplied commodity culture deviates from the limit of consumers' potential cultural needs, then this humanistic value will be accumulated together with practical value in the warehouse of the factory or the warehouse of the merchant. Therefore, the active supply of commodity culture is still based on an accurate grasp of cultural needs. Suppliers should not only gain insight into the actual and possible demand and its periodic changes through the market, but also start with the comprehensive analysis of relevant factors such as politics, science and technology, culture, education, system and consumer quality, so as to cultivate the inspiration of advanced innovation and moderate restriction. Only in this way can cultural supply really "arouse" a new cultural demand, take a step ahead in commercial competition and win by surprise.
The interaction between cultural demand and commodity culture realizes the balance of interests among the main bodies of market economy. As the only "satisfaction" of cultural needs, commodity culture has the following economic significance:
First, by making goods and services more "useful" to consumers (that is, increasing the use value), we can speed up the circulation of goods and greatly save the circulation cost.
Second, goods and services are value-added (that is, the increase in value), so that goods can be sold better. In other words, commodity culture greatly satisfies consumers' cultural and psychological preferences, which makes the utility of commodities surge, prices rise, enterprises earn excess profits and consumers get excess enjoyment. A small Tangshan porcelain bowl, because it has more natural charm in color and shape, will be hundreds of times more expensive than a five-star hotel. A brand-name women's dress, perhaps just its perceptual design, makes it sell at a price ten times higher than the cost. The price revolution has won "huge profits" for commodity owners, but this is reasonable because consumers enjoy "commodity culture" at the same time.
Third, the supply of commodity culture makes goods and services highly personalized and become specific goods to meet specific needs, thus naturally forming market entry barriers, from which enterprises can obtain monopoly effects.