Aesthetic self-cultivation, no less than universal affluence, is an evident absurdity in today’s neoliberal world where «only the strong survive». Self-cultivation requires a climate of leisure and indolence that is incompatible, as Jonathan Crary puts it, «with the demands of a 24/7 universe». Self-cultivation is a kind of reflexive turning inward; as such, it is the opposite of self-branding, where I stylize myself in order to market myself, to be an entrepreneur of myself, and to increase the value of my «human capital». Self-cultivation is unthinkable under our current condition of austerity, where everything must be made subject to market competition and judged exclusively in terms of financial profit that it is able to yield under stringent constraints. From an outside perspective, it is quite bizarre that we take the «discipline of the market» so much for granted, while w laugh at the supposed naiveté of Fourier’s intricate calculus of passions and pleasures.
Shaviro, Steven, No Speed Limit: Three Essays on Accelerationism, p. 50, 51.
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