Wow Dude! What Happened?
In my teenage years, I was never really one of the “in” crowd or a part of the “cool” counterculture. I wasn’t anti-social. I had friends; we hung out. It’s just that I preferred to be outside fishing in a stream over sitting on the ground somewhere in protest. Not only that, there was no way my dad was going to let me grow my hair over my ears. It just wasn’t going to happen! Let’s not even mention the beads. Yes, I took some heat for that, but hey man, that’s life!
At the time it seemed that the people who tried hardest to be unique and a part of the counterculture actually became cookie cutter images of each other. Contrary to popular culture, the Bohemian lifestyle was not invented in the USA; it’s been around since circa 1620—nothing new there! So the “cool” counterculture of the 60s, came shouting into the 70s, then came disco-dancing into the 80s; they purchased their way into the 90s and now find themselves wondering: Wow dude! What happened?
Enter Heath’s and Potter’s thesis. Those of the counterculture movement striving to overthrow the capitalistic system, viewing themselves as righteous outlaws fighting against a class system that had at its heart money and control, ironically became the greatest generation of capitalists of all time. According to the authors, the counterculture has invaded the business world. Their ideas and ideology have become that which drives the consumer culture. “Rather than abolishing class, cool has essentially replaced class as the central determinant of social prestige.”[1] The counterculture has become the consumer culture.[2]
Heath and Potter take their thesis one step future. Not only has the counterculture become the consumer culture, the movement has at best hindered the progress of social justice in our world, at worst has had no part in any social gain. Most of the social gains in our world have not taken place because of a counterculture movement but by the hard work of people who work within the system. The gains happened through “democratic political action—through people making arguments, conducting studies, assembling coalitions and legislating change.”[3]
Their general conclusion: We now realize that the great rebellion, the counterculture movement, the striving to throw out the system, really hasn’t changed anything; in fact, it may have made things worse. Their answer: “We might start by clearing away some of the consumerist clutter and introducing a bit more uniformity into our lives. Instead of ‘daring to be different’, perhaps we should dare to be the same.”[4]
Application
Though Heath and Potter consider themselves to be progressive in their political views, their thesis and conclusions seem rather conservative in nature. For example, they use strong words concerning law and order and espouse the importance of working within the system. “Being an outlaw is in many ways parasitic upon the existence of an organized society. What if everyone became an outlaw? What does a society with no institutions, no rules, and no regulations look like?[5] Maybe the seem like more conservative views because the progressive and conservative views have become so dichotomized that it’s more difficult to find common ground among the two. Is the area located in the overlapping vectors of the Venn diagram empty when it comes to progressive and conservative views? Have we come to a point where there is no middle ground.
In the last several books that we have read for this semester including Weber, Polani, Cavanaugh and Miller, one can sense a desperation to understand what is taking place in our world and a desire to make it somehow better. However, decade after decade we seem to find ourselves in the very same place. Heath and Potter say it this way: “Decades of countercultural rebellion have failed to change anything because the theory of society on which the countercultural idea rests is false.”[6] For the authors, part of the answer is to work within the greater organized and structured governments to make changes for the good. But again, we are back where we started.
The question becomes for me, who then is responsible for a better world? Should Christian worry about a temporal world and its systems or should they focus only on the eternal? As a Christian, we should be concerned about both. That is part of our reason for existence. However, concern and fulfillment are two different things.
I would assert that the counterculture movement was assimilated into the greater capitalist culture in part because of the desire to fulfill the deeper needs of the soul with substitutes that cannot fulfill—namely things, power, and prestige. The inner longing, the deep desire, the calling of the heart is a gift that leads us to the Creator. If our fulfillment comes from a relationship with the Creator, then we may be in a better position to affect change in our world.
The difficulty with this assertion like this is that cannot be proved imperially and so it is debatable, academically. And yet, I somehow know it is true. Furthermore, I am not the only one who somehow knows it is true. The “knowing” supersedes political, economic and cultural lines. Could it be that the “faithful” are to be the counterculture? I think so. If you’re interested, I recommend The Upside-Down Kingdom by Donald Kraybill.
- Heath, Joseph, and Andrew Potter. The Rebel Sell: How the Counter Culture Became Consumer Culture. Capstone, 2006, 205.
- Ibid., 108.
- Ibid., 11.
- Ibid., 189.
- Ibid., 58.
- Ibid., 10.
About the Author
Jim Sabella
14 responses to “Wow Dude! What Happened?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Enjoyable post, Jim. I had fun picturing you growing up around the hippies, but I’m a bit sad for you that you had no beads! Being a “beader” myself, I might have to do something about that:).
Loved this!! “The inner longing, the deep desire, the calling of the heart is a gift that leads us to the Creator. If our fulfillment comes from a relationship with the Creator, then we may be in a better position to affect change in our world.” So true and beautifully put. As I read all these books on consumerism, I am reminded of our true heart’s desire: to be connected with our Creator, like a child to their parent. Things are dull in comparison to an authentic relationship with God through Jesus Christ. How do we inspire people to put down their things and turn to God for their true desires to be met?
Thanks Jennifer. Sometimes it seems that extreme consumerism is not unlike a drug addiction. The rush of endorphins at the initial purchase, followed by the inevitable letdown often called “buyer’s remorse” and the search for another endorphin rush. That’s why I think the term “longing” is so descriptive in this discussion.
We are of course called to live countercultural Kingdom lives! Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world…
Jesus showed us what it was to be a real rebel. As Alice Cooper once said: “the most rebellious thing I ever did was become Christian”.
Geoff, great quote from Alice Cooper—one of the great symbols of the counterculture for a whole generation.
Thanks for the recommendation of the book, Jim.
Another word the authors used was “distinct”. I like that word. Do I look distinct from the ‘world’?
Over the weekend we were out of town and attended my sister-in-law’s church. The minister actually preached on ‘branding’!! (Isn’t God good!?!)
The short version of the sermon is that the ‘brand’ we should wear is Christian – little-Christ – and it should show so much that we don’t need to wear a t-shirt saying so.
Mary, I like the thought that we should wear our Christianity. Thanks for sharing that.
Jim, thank you so much for noting that we as Christians should be focused on both the temporal and the eternal! It is such a crucial point in how we can influence the systems in which we live.
You noted that Heath and Potter point out, “Not only has the counterculture become the consumer culture, the movement has at best hindered the progress of social justice in our world, at worst has had no part in any social gain. Most of the social gains in our world have not taken place because of a counterculture movement but by the hard work of people who work within the system.”
This is the crux of where I disagree with Heath and Potter. If there had been no counter-culture, I do not believe there would be those who work within the system to make change. I agree with them that the people who claim that capitalism is the root of all evil, but what I hear in social justice movements now that create non-profits (that make money to send elsewhere) or ethically run businesses are the echoes of those who railed against capitalism. Heath and Potter assume that people who are against capitalism have no effect on those who are only against the flaws within capitalism. I believe it is more of a conversation where the people who see the flaws hear the cries of those who think it’s all about capitalism say, “There is a problem, but we can’t throw out capitalism to fix it. We can simply work within the system to temper or heal the flaws.”
Kristen, thanks for your response. I do agree that a counterculture may illuminate change in a system that is often dependent on the status quo and therefore slow to change. I might see it from a different angle in that maybe we would have progressed further—although we will never know—if some of the energy expended in an effort to destabilize the system would have been used to work from the inside to change the system. I agree that might have happened more that Heath and Potter would like to admit. I agree too that there are more nonprofits than ever before, 1.5 million in the USA alone, and they are doing a fantastic job of making an impact in the world. Thanks for your response Kristen.
Could it be that the “faithful” are to be the counterculture? I think so
Christians should be set apart but they are so much wanting to be accepted that the church leaders and church members have placed Jesus back on the boat with his disciples while they roam the land spreading a message of their own creation.
Lynda, that’s a powerful statement! “[they] placed Jesus back on the boat with his disciples while they roam the land spreading a message of their own creation.” Thanks for sharing that.
Great post Jim. Yes as believers we are to be countercultural in this world. However, the issue lies in that many in the church define “cool” as status quo. They don’t want to cause any waves in the system at all especially if they benefit from it in some way.
I do not believe that the system cannot be changed. Whether it is fast or slow it takes those willing to go against the grain to invoke the change. There drive and commitment to be other does make a difference.
Jim, you’ve hit on an important connection between the consumer rebels and those who follow Christ (and those two are not mutually exclusive); that is, we all recognize the world isn’t as it should be, and all desire to be part of a better world. Recognizing our desire for something better is a great common place to start. As a follower of Jesus, I don’t believe that “something better” is attainable only in “heaven”, but that the Kingdom of God is here among us. It’s upside down, it’s loving our neighbors, working for the common good. It is in reconciling with one another, and witnessing in that that reconciliation is only possible because Jesus risked suffering among us to bring peace.
Thanks Katy. I think you make a good point when you say “it is in reconciling with one another.” This may be one of the greatest change agents of all time. God give us the strength to practice reconciliation with each other. How can we expect to change the world if we can’t begin on the inside with each other. Appreciate your response Katy.
Great post, Jim! I refuse to believe that you weren’t right at the center of the ‘in’ crowd.
I think you hit on some good stuff here. I do wonder if the difference between the counter cultural lives that we are called to live as Christians and the pull to be ‘countercultural’ is the ‘why’…. For Christians the why is about allegiance to Jesus Christ and his claim on our lives….. The pull to ‘counterculturalism’ is really about wanting to stand out, wanting to be different and wanting not to conform.
Thanks again