Collective Selection Theory and Class Differentiation

Collective Selection Theory and Class Differentiation Selection argues that fashion as a force in culture, collective selection substitutes class differentiation as a motive for its dynamic change. The elites (buyers and designers) are the ones that move but do not affect the fashion system thus causing collective selection. This occurs because buyers and designers are intertwined in a mesh of a uniform culture where they read the same trends and have the kind of influences to each other. The collective selection forms part of a new movement towards newer tastes with driving forces of fashion being historical continuity (newer fashions arising from older ones), modernity, collective taste from social interaction and finally psychological motives which Blumer (1969) acknowledges but does not favour. From his examination, he observes fashion as a central force that affects cultural sociology. His form of fashion is semi-autonomous which responds to but it is not influenced by opinions and taste of elites. This was a first attempt by socio logists to take the topic of fashion seriously. Georg Simmel in his 1904s class analysis of fashion had given a casual examination of the topic. Introduction Fashion is among the most creative and important industry in the world.  Everyone participates in development of the fashion industry to a certain degree. Fashion is a subject that periodically rediscovers itself and it is fascinating in its dynamics of humanities and social sciences. Social thinkers over time have treated the fashion industry as a window for social change and social class. Fashion has been viewed to embody characteristics representing modernity and culture. Some sociologists argue that it is hard to fathom a social life be it in arts, sciences, politics, entertainment, academia, business, law or morality without exhibiting elements of fashion in one way or another. Society tend to flock to styles, ideas, methods and practices that appear new and exciting to them, and after a period of time, the intensity of the fascination diminishes when newer ones emerge. The need and desire to be in fashion is manifested mostly in dressing. This is characterized by a pull of th e societys or inividuals continuity and the also the push to adopt new innovations. A cultural analysis of fashion is essential in understanding the dynamic shift in trends over time. Unlike the trickle down theory by Georg Simmel in 1904 which did not observe fashion first-hand, the Blumers collective selection theory gives attention to the whole process of meaning to society with focus on practices that are contemporary. An observation is made from the above two theories that fashion setters are the ones who mainly benefit from the intertwined relationship whereas followers benefit a little bit. Blumer asks fellow sociologists to take seriously the topic of fashion. He argues that this is so because fashion is more than clothing. Fashion is natural as it did not appear to society that in history as fashion but achievements that were up-to-date. He further states that fashion is important socially because where it operates be it in philosophy, business or science, it assumes a central position. Blumer asserts that fashion is a behavior that is rational. Fashion has its respectability because people respond to its character that is of distinction and propriety. Simmels (1957) view of fashion as style in his trickle-down theory provided insights such as the relevance of prestige in fashion operation and the proper identification of the realm of fashion as a form of change which is natural as opposed to aberrant. This analysis however falls short of catching the real position of fashion as a wider social happening. Simmel adds that fashion is taken up by social elites for the reason of classifying themselves from the other lower class. The lower group or class adopts the style of the upper group. When new fashions emerge, the upper class shifts to flee from their counterparts hence causing a continuous trickle-down effect characterized by the need for the upper class to distinguish themselves. In a nutshell, fashion is influenced by need for social stratification and social mobility. Though there has been wide criticism of the social class theory as being simplistic and also one-dimensional, it has had broad influence on todays fashion becaus e observation of fashion trends of many consumers show that high status people and the wealthy set the trend in fashion. For instance fashion magazines show images of items that are highly priced and outside the reach of lower class group, this cause a drive for the ordinary group to imitate and emulate the rich. However, it is not the wealth and prestige of the elite that makes the very design fashionable, but it is the designs potential fashionableness that allows the elites prestige to be attached. This is possible because the elite, rather than set the trends/fashion, they struggle and strive to follow its direction. This is based on the fact that people will consume fashion but not because of their wealth or prestige of their social class but just to show fashionability. Moreover, the elite have to make a decision of choosing between competing trends in fashion and that the choice they make is not always dependent on prestige of the innovator of the same fashion. In addition, c lass structure of the 20th century was different from the subsequent centuries. The contemporary societys class has a diversified structure and puts emphasis on fashion modernity. Zeitgeist theory Blumer (1969) expands on the views of Simmel by outlining all the societal conditions of fashion appearance because fashion emanates from societies. On the theory advanced by Herbert Blumer, fashion comes from a process that is collective where people adopt collective tastes expressed in trends in fashion. The driving force of fashion is not always imitation of the higher class people per se, rather they follow trends in fashion because of their desire to be fashionable. Consumers make a choice among various options available in the fashion market. People think of choices of their fashion as personal style and expressing individuality. As the selection goes on at individual level, it also occurs in aggregation into tastes that are collective. As selection and aggregation process in fashion goes on, a zeitgeist theory of trend is reflected. Individual choices in fashion spark a movement which has collective character implications on society. For example a style observed by a public figure may manifest the zeitgeist trend. The theory is a critique of the trickle-down effect of imitation of people of high status. The theory views fashion and trend as a collective or aggregation of choices of individuals in the society. It emphasizes not imitation or copying, but the desire by an individual to be fashionable. For instance, the desire to be in fashion does not necessarily mean emulation of values, lifestyle, or status of the group that sported the style first. Such individuals may opt to be in a collective moment which does not require imitation of what others are wearing. A status theory in trends might suggest that joining a trend is copying. Moreover, fashion rises as emulation then follows by a decline when early adopters try to stratify themselves from the masses by adopting new style. It then follows that, if one tries to equate joining a trend with copying, then the conclusion is that copying is a driving force for fashion. However, the trickle-down effect or status theory does not completely exhaust all the motivations for trends in fashion. According to the zeitgeist theory, imitation of elites and copying does not completely define fashion. Therefore, the theory disaggregates fashion from copying and that it moves not because the market is saturated with copies. In a nutshell, copying in fashion change may play a small role but it is not the engine without which the industrys innovation would stagnate. Social construction element of fashion in a society Blumer argues that fashion as a form of change is not linked to any field arbitrarily but it may affect or influence the content of that particular field which it operates. Fashion is the linkage to the past, the present and the future of the followers of fashion. Blumer (1969) gives six features which are basics of fashion which underline the function played by time in the whole fashion process. First is the readiness and willingness to change particularly in the area and the people through their practices, beliefs, attachments and they must also be ready to accept new forms of social order which thrusts them into the right direction in the future. The assumption and presupposition is that the area of fashion change is in passage, it will responding to changes around it and it is geared towards remaining abreast of current and new developments. Secondly, new proposals or models compete for them to be adopted and embraced. The models for adoption should be diverse by covering a range of viewpoints, themes, doctrines, practices, lines of preoccupation and artifacts use. Thirdly, there has to be relatively free room or opportunity for making a choice between the proposals or models. Fourthly, the selection should be made based on response to the interplay or incipient taste rather than rational considerations, merit or utility. This brings the difficulty of determination of merits because the guiding principles of fashion are not utilitarian or considerations that are rational. Fifthly, is the topic of presence of figures who are prestige and who espouse upon themselves the competing proposals. Blumer (1969) adds that what is perceived to be up to date is better than mere promotion of trends in fashion of certain figure that is prestigious (actor, organization, individual). The sixth element or feature is the area of applicability of the fashion. It should be open to emerging new interests in response to effects of outside situation/events, new participants being introduced in the fashion area and shift social interactions. Blumer argues that a course of fashion development must be present so that a given model is solidified and socially lifted which is important for a certain time frame (Blumer, 1969: 288). According to Meyer and Rowan (1977) as fashion comes and goes within the context of institutional environment, as long as they are accepted and institutionalized as standards in behavior, they can be regarded as institutions. A critique of fashion mechanism features Viewing fashion mechanism from the perspective of a continuing process of fashion that is of collective selection in a competitive model brings a different picture of social analysis. The elites in fashion form part of a collective process which responds to a shift in sensitivity and taste. Features such as historical continuity, modernity, collective taste and psychological motives which affect fashion mechanisms are discussed below. Historical continuity Fashion grows out of predecessors. The innovators of fashion always consider prevailing fashion for purposes of embracing, elaborating or departing from it. A continuity line is thus formed which typically has a trend. This continuity means that no extreme change occurs. On the other hand Blumer calls the popular adornments which lack successor as fads. Modernity Blumer refers to modernity as zeitgeist. Fashion is modern and seeks to remain abreast of modern times. Fashion is always sensitive to changes in developments. Fashion becomes responsible and responsive to trend, to developments in ornamentation, fabrics, and fine arts. Collective taste Collective taste is a force that ensures a process which selects, sets limits and provides guidance and also undergoes refinement through attachment to social forms. Taste is tri-fold in nature. It operates like a selector by giving basis for rejection or acceptance. It is also an agent which guides the growth of action lines and by shaping objects for the purposes of meeting demand. Fashion change occurs frequently in societies where there is more interaction between people and where the newness of the change is most valued rather than feared. Fashion is also not individual but social in nature. Psychological Motives Earlier scholars have traced fashion to be desires for notoriety and personal prestige. For instance, some define it as the effort towards increasing the self attractiveness under conditions that impair ones integrity of the ego. According to Blumer (1969), such explanations are shallow as they singly or either collectively, has been unable to account for trends in fashion because they do not show how the different feelings lead to fashion process. The definitions fail show fashion as a collective selection process as it is. In summary, there are many factors influencing fashion change. Fashion change is selected collectively through interplay between public taste that is dynamic and desire by the elite group to shape modernity which is part of the public. Fashion, according to Blumer (1969) appears as a collective class or grouping for the near future than a movement that is laid down by the prestige figures. Conclusion Blumers (1969) analysis of fashion as being social rather than individual in nature is a holistic attempt by a sociologist to explain the topic. Blumer (1969) concludes that fashion helps individuals and society in general to deal with the dynamics and potential complexities of modern world. Through the process of collective selection, social order is achieved. Fashion brings into fore a measure of uniformity and unanimity in a market that would have been fragmented. It introduces some order in the present. It does so by establishing a model that limits variability hence ensuring uniformity. Secondly, fashion serves at detaching the grip of past events in a dynamic world. This calls for option to move towards new directions hence it cannot be referred to as old-fashioned or out-of-date. Finally fashion operates as preparation that is orderly to the future. It offers elites the chance to give their models and at the same time adopts the ones that withstand collective selection. The ab ove three ways help society move in a unified and orderly manner. Fashion should be viewed as a pivotal mechanism which informs social order in a modernized society. Sociologists should strive to analysis fashion without irrationality and inconsequential behavior.

Boundaries of Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the K

Boundaries of Fate and Free Will in Oedipus the King    The ancient Greeks firmly believed that the universe was guided strictly by order and fate. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles has examined the relationship between free will and fate, suggesting that free will paradoxically exists inside the boundaries of fate. It may be concluded, however, that man has free will and is ultimately held responsible for his own actions.    Oedipus' destruction was brought about by a combination of fate and free will. He was a victim of fate for it was foretold at his birth that he would marry his mother and murder his father. This prophecy, as warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was unconditional and inevitably would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of his own will.    Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. Oedipus for one could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi. Another action that hastened his downfal... ...sunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien.   New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1968.   17-29.    Knox, Bernard M. W.   The Heroic Temper: Studies in Sophoclean Tragedy. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1964.    Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.    Sophocles.   "Oedipus Rex."   An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al.   New York: Longman, 1997.   

Child Development, Nature vs Nurture

The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in psychology. The debate centers on the relative contributions ofgenetic inheritance  and  environmental factors  to human development. Some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as  tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience.For example, when a person achieves tremendous academic success, did they do so because they are genetically predisposed to be successful or is it a result of an enriched environment? Today, the majority of experts believe that behavior and development are influenced by both nature and nurture. However, the issue still rages on in many areas such as in the debate on the origins of homosexuality and influences on  intelligence. This question has puzzled philosophers, psychologists and educators for hundreds of years and is frequently referred to as the  nature versus nurture  debate.Are we the result of nature (our genetic background) or nurture (our environment)? Today, most researchers agree that child development involves a complex interaction of both nature and nurture. While some aspects of development may be strongly influenced by biology, environmental influences may also play a role. For example, the timing of when the onset of puberty occurs is largely the results of heredity, but environmental factors such as nutrition can also have an effect. From the earliest moments of life, the interaction of heredity and the environment works to shape who children are and who they will become.While the genetic instructions a child inherits from his parents may set out a road map for development, the environment can impact how these directions are expre ssed, shaped or event silenced. The complex interaction of nature and nurture does not just occur at certain moments or at certain periods of time; it is persistent and lifelong. Babies begin to take in sensory experiences from the world around them from the moment of birth, and the environment will continue to exert a powerful influence on behavior throughout life. Geneticscan have a powerful influence on development, but experiences re equally important. For example, while the genetic code contains the information on how a child's  brain  may be pre-wired, it is learning and experience that will literally shape how that child's brain grows and develops. Final ThoughtsClearly, genetics have an enormous influence on how a child develops. However, it is important to remember that genetics are just one piece of the intricate puzzle that makes up a child's life. Environmental variables, including parenting, culture, education and social relationships also play a vital role.Nature v ersus Nurture is a popular debate about whether our genetics, or environmental influences â€Å"mold† more of who we are. An example is whether you get your out-going personality because of your DNA, or because you grew up in an environment that made you out-going. Nature is your genes, Nurture is environmental influences. Read more:  http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_the_argument_of_nature_vs_nurture#ixzz29QTunXP3 The nature vs nurture debate is one of the most enduring in the field of psychology. How far are human behaviors, ideas, and feelings,  INNATE  and how far are they all  LEARNED?These issues are at the center of the ongoing nature versus nurture debate or controversy. In the 17th  century the French philosopher Rene Descartes set out views which held that we all, as individual Human Beings, possess certain in-born ideas that underpin our approach to the world. The British philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, on the other hand, emphasised the role of experience as fully contributing to behavioral development. Locke set out the case that the human mind at birth is a complete, but receptive, blank slate ( scraped tablet or tabula rasa ) upon which experience imprints knowledge.Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper void of all characters, without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from EXPERIENCE. Dandelion children tend to do pretty well no matter what environment they grow up in. Orchid children, meanwhile, may develop behavior or mood problems in abusive or neglectful homes — but in loving ones, they may thrive even more than dandelions. And according to new research, the

Roles And Rights Of Wives - 1677 Words

Ancient Greek literature always seems to have one thing in common; writers either perceive the wives as faithful and ideal or lustful and selfish. By looking at the effect literature and writers had in shaping the role of wives, one can find several differences. However, many ideas stayed the same, and exploring the reasons these concepts did not change describes a great deal about the ancient Greeks and their strong belief on the duties of wives. Literature greatly affected the roles and rights of wives in the 8th century B.C. The ideal wife appears in The Odyssey, which Homer wrote in this time period; though the epic itself takes place during the 12th century B.C., some of the ideas represented in the tale represent the beliefs of the ancient Greeks in 700 B.C. The wife, Penelope, wept for the loss of her husband Odysseus. According to â€Å"The Status of Women in Ancient Athens,† she remained â€Å"chaste, unviolated, and faithful to her husband,† as well as â€Å"accepting [of] his adultery and absence† (O’Neal 117). She was the epitome of an ideal wife, and now that the Greeks established an ideal wife, the Athenians hoped to train and mold women. The ideal Athenian bride was 15 or less, and she had to be dedicated to the well-being of the husband, children, and household (O’Neal 118). All wives were uneducated and only had knowledge of household chores, and they were â€Å"virtually imprisoned in their homes† (O’Neal 117). Women did not have the right to hold political power, and theyShow MoreRelatedPerspective of an Ideal Marriage Essay1660 Words   |  7 PagesEven in today’s society, with women rights, ladies are still in their husbands’ shadow. Husbands are the head of the house and bread winner. Wives are the housekeeper. Today even thought a wife have rights she is still her husband’s maid. 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