Symbolic Exchange and Simulation

张宇

【Abstract】This article briefly illustrated the features of postmodern consumer society.Focusing on sign value， the author mainly explained the French social theorist Jean Baudrillards important theories on consumer society —— symbolic exchange and simulation.Though abstract and hard to understand， his theories lend us a wholly new and critical perspective to observe and understand the present society and its changing culture.

【Key words】consumer society； symbolic exchange； simulation

Like what has been said in Chinese Daoism classic Tao Te Ching： “With few there is attainment， with much there is confusion”， modern people are being surrounded by a huge amount of dazzling commodities and pervasive information.In front of this previously unexperienced accumulation， it is hard for people not to feel dizzy and confused.Profusion is evidently the most striking descriptive feature of the consumer society.The development of capitalism， the advance of economic globalization and the pervasion of mass media make it possible for the former territory divide of culture and economy to gradually disappear.In this alliance， commodities and homogenous culture began their travel to almost every corner of the world.In modern consumption scenes such as shopping mall， museums， Theme Park and travel experience， modern consumption is found as something more like a consumption of cultural code than that of commodities or services.Actually， in 1982， Frederick Jameson has already revealed that postmodern culture is strictly restricted by capitalist consumerism.In postmodern consumer culture， art is assimilated into commercial society and aestheticism and consumption are fused together.

Consumers personal space and time are in the grip of mass media like newspapers， television， broadcast， internet， public transport media and outdoor billboard.While mass media are promoting all kinds of products， they are also spreading consumption concepts， cultivating the mass consumers， and interweaving life style and ideology into every layer of society.Due to the participation of the elite artists， designers， advertisers， and intellectuals or quasi intellectuals in the research and development， package， and promotion of goods， commodities are endowed with more abundant cultural meanings and aesthetic values， which finally realized the signifying and symbolization of commodities.Those appealing advertisements and aesthetic packages grant commodities the subtlest significance —— sign value， which was named by French postmodern sociologist Jean Baudrillard.

Sign value brings psychological content concerning social status， living style， personal taste， values and self-identity.According to Baudrillard， the sign value of commodities is same as that of language signs.They do not bear meanings in themselves， but meanings can only be generated from differentials among these signs.Therefore， the consumption of commodities is not only the consumption of cultural significance， but that of cultural differences and the differences existing in social structures.Baudrillard holds that people do not only consume object for its use value but the relation itself and the process to form this relation.The consumption of codes and signs is the process of symbolic exchange.In the realm of signs and codes， various sign values including aesthetic ones keep replicating and accumulating themselves and finally produced a simulacrum society.

I.Sign Value and Symbolic Exchange

In Baudrillards several works， he was engaged in explaining the relationship between signs and consumer society explicitly and thoroughly.In The System of Objects （1968）， he explained：

We must clearly state that material goods are not the objects of consumption： they are merely the objects of need and satisfaction.We have all at times purchased， possessed， enjoyed， and spent， and yet not “consumed.” “Primitive” festivities， the prodigality of the feudal lord， or the luxury of the nineteenth-century bourgeois —— these are not acts of consumption… Consumption is neither a material practice， nor a phenomenology of “affluence.” It is not defined by the food we eat， the clothes we wear， the car we drive， nor by the visual and oral substance of images and messages， but in the organization of all this as signifying substance.Consumption is the virtual totality of all objects and messages presently constituted in a more or less coherent discourse.Consumption， in so far as it is meaningful， is a systematic act of the manipulation of signs.（Baudrillard， 1968： 266-267）

In Consumer Society （1970） Baudrillard provided numerous concrete examples of his analysis of consumer objects as a code.In his analysis， he reveals that consumer objects which constitute a system of signs that differentiate the population are actually a network of floating signifiers that are inexhaustible in their ability to incite desire.He argues that the reproduction of the mode of production has become dependent upon the expansion of consumption， which inaugurates a new epoch in the history of capitalism.In his following book For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign （1972） Baudrillard adds to the Marxian concepts of use value and exchange value and further points out advertising process transfigures use value and exchange value into sign value.This process transforms the object form and commodity form into sign form， which extends larger field of consumption.In Symbolic Exchange and Death （1976） Baudrillard expounds that the object form and commodity form are finally brought in symbolic exchange which is “an act of exchange and a social relation which puts an end to the real which resolves the real， and， at the same time， puts an end to the opposition between the real and the imaginary.”（Baudrillard， 1993： 62）

Baudrillard indicates that in todays consumer-oriented society commodities take on a symbolic value， like the notion of individual taste and the determinist concept of society， which constitutes their “status” and “power” and hampers the free individual action in the marketplace and sociology.In the advanced industrial societies the status and power concealed in symbolic value are networked into information cultures to “hypnotize” people to consume.Therefore， people are actually consuming so much more symbolic values in postmodern society than ever before.Whats more， a huge amount of commodities coming from the mass manufacture are producing a large simulating environment of symbolic exchange in which new demands for access to symbolic status are generated.In Baudrillards theory， the society prolific in commodities， images and sign values make mankind alienated and panic at this surplus.

II.Simulation and Hyperreality

As Baudrillards most influential and potent theory， his theory of simulation pumped much vitality to postmodern theory and provided a brand-new perspective in profound analysis of the consumer society.According to Baudrillard， we are now in a new postmodern simulacrum age which is a symbolic and information age controlled by models， codes， and cybernetics.It differs from the former producing age controlled by the industrial bourgeoisie.“The transition from modernity to postmodern is the one from metallurgy society to semiurgic one”.（Yang et Dong， 2003：180）

Baudrillards first analysis of simulation is in Symbolic Exchange and Death （1976）.In this book he sees simulation as the dominant mode of perception or “experience” of the world.In order to make clear what Baudrillard means when he refers to simulation， it is necessary to mention its lexical definition.One definition from Wikipedia is “simulation means the imitation of some real thing， state of affairs， or process.The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviors of a selected physical or abstract system.” Another is from Encarta Dictionary： “reproduction of features of something； the imitation or feigning of something.” Baudrillard gives three orders of simulation that are parallel to mutations in the law of value：

1.the counterfeit is the dominant scheme of the “classical” epoch， from the Renaissance to the industrial revolution.2.Production is the dominant scheme of the industrial era.3.Simulation is the dominant scheme of the present phase of history， governed by the code.（Baudrillard， 1993： 50）

These three orders， which generate three corresponding simulacra， have succeeded one another since the Renaissance： simulacra of the first order play on the natural law of value； those of the second order play on the commodity law of value； and those of the third order play on the structural law of value.The earlier two orders set a pretext for Baudrillard to propose that we now inhabit the third order of simulation， that is， the simulation of simulacra， and there is no real to imitate as the simulation is not an imitation but a replacement here.This phase is dominated by the “structural law of value，” where the code reigns.Using his formulation of the “genealogy” of simulacra， he further illustrates his theory of simulation in Simulacra and Simulation （1985） by proposing three corresponding types of simulacra：

Simulacra that are natural， naturalist， founded on the image， on imitation and counterfeit， that are harmonious， optimistic， and that aim for the restitution or the ideal institution of nature made in Gods image； simulacra that are productive， productivist， founded on energy， force， its materialization by the machine and in the whole system of production—a Promethean aim of a continuous globalization and expansion， of an indefinite liberation of energy （desire belongs to the Utopias related to this order of simulacra）； simulacra of simulation， founded on information， the model， the cybernetic game—total operationality， hyperreality， aim of total control.（Baudrillard， 1994： 81）

Baudrillard distinguishes three orders of simulacra associated with three historical periods.The first order simulacra belong to the pre-modern era in which images were clearly copies or representations of some original.The second order simulacra arise with the industrial revolution， photography and mass reproduction technologies in the nineteenth century， where distinctions between image and reality break down due to the proliferation of mass-produced copies.The items ability to imitate reality threatens to replace the original version and the image obscures and threatens to displace the real.The third order simulacra are associated with the postmodern age where， in reverse， the image is said to completely precede and determine the real， and the distinction between reality and representation breaks down.

Baudrillard claims that the simulacrum of the third type is not a copy of the real， but becomes truth in its own right： the hyperreal —— the generation by models of a real without origin or reality.The hyperreal world is constructed “out of models or simulacra which have no referent or ground in any ‘reality except their own，” （Baudrillard， 2001： 6） and it is no longer possible to peel away layers of representation to arrive at some original.In this hyperreal world， all binary oppositions are obliterated and reality is “preceded” by the “black hole” of signs：

That is the precession of simulacra.The relation between signs is no longer one of an original and its counterfeit， analogy or reflection， but is instead one of equivalence and indifference.This process of production absorbs every original being and introduces a series of identical beings.（Baudrillard， 1993： 50）

In Baudrillards analysis， modern society centered on the production of things — commodities and products — while postmodern society is characterized by a proliferation of signs governed by models， codes， and cybernetics， and everyone falls into the game of signs.The order of contemporary society thus shifts from a production of commodities to a self-enclosed reproducing system of information， computerization， and media.The society， in which signs become the constituting principle of reality， has become so reliant on simulacra that peoples experience of the real has always already been a mediated effect of the simulation models.Therefore， “the more simulation becomes complete， the more we have a sense of the real， of being immersed in reality.” （Hegarty， 2004： 49） In this hyperreal world， the representation can no longer represent the real.In this order， the human society is very like a matrix produced by human themselves through generating endless signs to form a self-sufficient system in which every individual is controlled by signs and operates automatically.

For Baudrillard， postmodern consumer society is a hyperreal society full of signs and codes.Sign value and symbolic exchange are the potent logic dominating the present society.Peoples life is controlled by the consumption of commodities and the exchange of information.Commodities have importance as signs or symbols and therefore the act of consumption possesses the profound socio-cultural significance which involves more and more aesthetic and cultural meaning.However， all connotations lying in the consumer culture are signs and codes， and therefore consumer culture is just a culture lacking depth.Although Baudrillards theory has some defects， for his theory is abstruse and his outlook on human society is too pessimistic， no one can deny that we are now in a consumer society and we are facing many challenges like resources crisis， environmental protection and modern peoples spiritual problems.therefore， Baudrillard offers us a critical vision on present society and urges us to ponder and face these problems the consumer society brings to us.Instead of exhausting the natural resources on earth in an incredibly fast speed and alienating human beings into just impersonal material beings， we should really work on how to conquer the contradiction between the growth in economy and the requirement to save natural resources.And we are also left to think about the new cybernetics， according to which we are psychologically colonized by the concepts and ideology produced by the alliance of global capital and mass media.

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