Postindustrial society shifts value from utility to cultural distinctiveness.
Evidence
Literary scholar Richard Lanham, from the perspective of literature and art, also develops Simonâs point about the centrality of attention, arguing that the transition from an industrial to a postindustrial society involves what he calls a shift âfrom stuff to fluffâ. By this he means a shift from a focus on the practical utility of ideas and objects to what they represent in a broader cultural context, what makes them distinctive and thus âattention trapsâ. The examples he gives include the work of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Christo, all of whom made the capacity to attract attention central to their art, replacing the artistic object itself. â Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 9
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces Lanhamâs key distinction between stuff and fluff, a frequently-cited frame for attention economy analysis.
- CANDY: The phrase âfrom stuff to fluffâ is a memorable one-liner great for elevator conversation.
- XREF: connects to: Wealth accumulation shifted social valuation from actual ability to prestige. â Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core: On the Role ofâŠ, 438; Societal success hinges on which prestige-valued domains a culture honors. â Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How CultureâŠ, 462; Wildlife research is a new sport that outflanks mechanization and multiplies cultural value. â Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With OtherâŠ, 644
Related
Broader Connections
- Wealth accumulation shifted social valuation from actual ability to prestige.
#expands(0.75) â Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 438