Navigating Art and Ideas in the Subjective Economy: Picasso, Memes, and Social Media
In the digital age, the rapid spread of ideas and images through social media has transformed how we interpret, engage with, and value content. A recent example involved a cropped version of Picasso’s 1937 La Borgia, shared in a Facebook group dedicated to Picasso. This image sparked a flurry of reactions: some praised it, while others called for its removal, questioning its authenticity. Was it a cropped reinterpretation? An AI-generated fake? Many criticized it, accusing the post of diluting the group with inauthentic content.
One member commented, “Not, not, not Picasso! Quit posting junk,” while another noted, “The picture I’m familiar with contains a saucepan, a small cooking pot, on the right…Somebody chopped it off. Or else, more probably, it’s some AI fake, as several people have suggested.” After finding and posting the original La Borgia image in the comments, I offered an explanation for why this cropped version was so widely shared. My take? The cropped image was likely circulating as a form of “virtue signalling,” hinting at the peace or victory gesture of “two fingers,” which has become a popular meme.
The administrators of the group did not remove the cropped image, suggesting that they did not see it as violating any rules about authenticity. This decision allowed the cropped image to continue circulating as a kind of “meme”—a remix of the original La Borgia, now shaped by the subjective economy and social media’s viral tendencies. This situation highlights how we’re living in a subjective information economy, one that’s shaped more by shared emotional responses and viral trends than by objective truths or expert curation.
The Rise of the Subjective Economy in the Information Age
In today’s information economy, content spreads rapidly, almost like commodities during a crisis—think of the early COVID lockdowns and the rush for toilet paper. Now, it’s ideas and memes that are “viral commodities.” Social media amplifies this effect: by speeding up the sharing process, it creates immediate scarcity or demand for certain ideas, much like the rush on goods. People are driven by subjective values in this economy, prioritizing what resonates with them on a personal level, even if it may lack objective truth. This makes memes powerful drivers of public perception and can lead to widespread, sometimes irrational, behaviors—paralleling early COVID panic buying.
In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins discusses memes as units of cultural transmission, akin to genes in biological evolution. One relevant idea is that memes can propagate independently of their utility or rationality to drive and sway public perception, as seen during crises like the panic buying during COVID-19, reflecting the power of memes in shaping collective behavior. This phenomenon is further amplified by the way memes can often confuse algorithms or avoid detection in the vast and open communications space of social media. Their rapid popularity often hinges not on their intrinsic content or contextual meaning, but rather on their ability to resonate with a wide audience and generate engagement, allowing individuals to share or virtue signal these perspectives as their own and receive validation in the form of likes and shares from others.
The algorithms prioritize content that garners attention, and memes can be "bumped" to the top of feeds simply because they are popular, creating a feedback loop that further propels their visibility. This dynamic underscores how the subjective economy thrives on popularity, allowing certain memes to dominate the conversation while overshadowing more nuanced or substantive discussions.
The Subjective Economy Meets the Techno-Feudal World
In today’s “techno-feudal” economy—where a few powerful tech platforms dictate much of what we see and share—people are both empowered and limited by this subjective economy. Social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter allow individuals to create and share content that aligns with their beliefs, turning subjective interpretations into widely visible trends. People find and foster communities, effectively creating small “kingdoms” of influence within these platforms.
However, real control remains with these tech giants, whose algorithms prioritize engagement and profit over objective or balanced discourse. Although users can amplify their voices, the platform algorithms still decide which content gains the most visibility, often favoring content that’s sensational or polarizing. This dynamic can be likened to the reference to the psychological horror, The Shining, where the protagonist's mental instability and distorted reality is used in much the same way how algorithms can warp the information landscape, to amplify certain narratives while suppressing others. However, it’s the lesson from Cambridge Analytica that underscores this point most succinctly: by harnessing their personal data to manipulate voter behavior and influence political discourse, it became evident that by influencing the algorithms shaping social media interactions as our specifically personal desires, they were weaponized to serve specific political agendas, demonstrating the profound impact of subjective values on public perception and democratic processes.
Subjective Values and the Pursuit of Direct Democracy in the Information Economy
Many believe the internet has democratized information, creating a direct democracy where everyone has a voice. However, the influence of the subjective economy complicates this vision. The subjective economy prioritizes emotional resonance and personal relevance over objective merit, meaning that ideas spread not because they’re the most accurate, but because they align with specific beliefs or evoke strong emotions. This can make the information economy feel more democratic, as diverse voices gain visibility, but it also creates risks.
When people engage more with content that reinforces their views, it leads to echo chambers and polarization, diminishing the shared understanding necessary for a true democratic space. Influencers, viral trends, and emotionally charged content often drown out more nuanced voices, creating a popularity-driven form of democracy where the loudest ideas dominate. This mirrors the moral ambiguity in Se7en, where personal desires and justifications lead to devastating consequences. Thus, while the subjective economy encourages participation, it sometimes skews the direct democracy ideal, prioritizing popular or emotionally resonant ideas over balanced discourse.
Shaping Meaning in the Age of Subjective Values
The quote from The Silence of the Lambs—“Then something woke you? Didn't it? Was it a dream?”—serves as a poignant reflection on awakening to the complexities of perception in the subjective economy. It suggests a moment of realization, paralleling how individuals become increasingly aware of the influences shaping their beliefs and desires. The distinction between dreams and reality mirrors the blurring of lines in the digital age, where curated content often feels as real as lived experiences. This blurring creates a landscape where personal interpretation takes precedence over objective truths, leaving individuals to grapple with their emotions and biases in a saturated information environment.
In an era where social media amplifies subjective perspectives, the subjective economy shapes how we value and interact with content, driving trends and public perceptions. The cropped version of La Borgia serves as a reminder that, while people may strive for relevance and resonance, platforms control the visibility of content. The subjective economy invites individuals to navigate and even influence the overwhelming flow of information by reshaping meaning and value based on personal beliefs. However, within the larger, techno-feudal framework, these efforts exist within boundaries set by platform algorithms.
As we continue to grapple with these dynamics, it becomes clear that the subjective economy will remain a powerful force, one that both empowers and limits our interaction with the vast landscape of digital information. Ultimately, understanding this interplay is essential for navigating the complexities of art, ideas, and identity in our interconnected world.
