Zombie
A Zombie defines themselves by their perceptions of what others want and are doing.
Mimetic Desire
The mimetic theory of desire explains human behavior and culture, which originated with the French historian and polymath René Girard. “Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.”
Democracy For Zombies
Edward L. Bernays is the father of modern public relations (PR) and promotion. Although he died over two decades ago, his influence permeates modern western consumer culture. Bernays was related to Sigmund Freud on two sides: Freud’s sister Anna was Bernays’ mother, and his father Ely, a grain merchant, was the brother of Freud’s wife, Martha.
Bernays’s access to the leading minds driving the new science of psychology led Bernays to a vision of PR that extended beyond the narrow bounds of marketing campaigns. For him, PR was the instrument to guarantee a smoothly functioning society. Since ‘the masses’ – according to Bernays – are incapable of making rational decisions, ‘the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an essential element in a democratic society.’
Corporations Know You are a Zombie
In WWI, tobacco companies supplied cigarettes to the US military, including cigarettes in their rations. Not surprisingly, many men who came back from WWI were addicted to nicotine, so cigarette smoking increased exponentially among men after the war. In 1929, Bernays’ client, George W. Hill, president of the American Tobacco Company, asked him: ‘How can we get women to smoke on the street? They’re smoking indoors. But, damn it, if they spend half the time outdoors and we can get them to smoke outdoors, we’ll damn near double our female market. Do something. Act!’ Barneys consulted with a student of Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist A.A. Brill. Brill understanding of the social influence model’s motivational power suggested cigarettes needed to be marketed as torches of freedom and emancipation to American women. Barneys ‘ secretary, Bertha Hunt, initiated the resulting marketing campaign to get ten socialite women of New York to walk through the Macy’s parade smoking. Bertha’s telegram to the young debutants or New York read: ‘In the interests of equality of the sexes and to fight another sex taboo I and other young women will light another torch of freedom by smoking cigarettes while strolling on Fifth Avenue Easter Sunday.’
The modern world of social influencers was born. Corporations understand Mimetic Theory and know that people look to others to decide what they want, and they know how to manipulate the ‘Zombies.’
Seven Signs You are a Zombie
1. You are overly concerned about what other people think
2. You worry about what other people are doing
3. Many of your conversations are focused on what someone else is doing
4. Keeping up with trends is very important to you
5. You are either better or worse than others.
6. Drama makes you feel alive.
7. Quiet and peaceful bores you
We All Have a Little Zombie in Us
Most, if not all, of us, can relate to the symptoms of zombiehood. Healthy Ego development is based on comparing others and comparing objects in general, and comparison can be motivating and insightful while framed in a healthy ego model. The problem is we live in a culture that is investing $Billions$ to promote unhealthy models.
The Zombie Culture
Zombies are herd animals driven by emotional appeals to their base nature. A Zombie’s behavior is dualistic, seeing either friend or enemy, right or wrong, good or bad. The Zombie hoard needs an enemy and is not interested in any discussion or debate on the absolute truth of their cause.
The Cure
This, my friends, is the answer we need to find before the Zombies run the world, or are they already?