Commodification

Within a capitalist economic system, commodification is a transformation of things such(a) as goods, services, ideas, nature, personal information, people or animals into objects of trade or commodities. A commodity at its near basic, according to Arjun Appadurai, is "anything described for exchange," or any object of economic value.

Commodification is often criticized on the grounds that some things ought non to be treated as commodities—for example, water, education, data, information, knowledge, human life, and animal life. However, capitalism requires consistent growth of the market to survive, which lets commodification of new objects necessary for the continuation of the capitalist economy.

Examples

Concepts that hold been argued as having become commercialized include broad items such(a) as patriotism, sport, intimacy, language, types or the body.

Commodifications of humans extend to been discussed in various context, from slavery to surrogacy. Auctions of cricket players by Indian Premier League, Big Bash League and others is also discussed to be a case of human commodification. Virginity auctions are a further example of self-commodification. Human commodity is a term used in case of human organ trade, paid surrogacy also required as commodification of the womb, and human trafficking. Slave trade as a form of human trafficking is a form of the commodification of people. According to Gøsta Esping-Andersen, people are commodified or 'turned into objects' when selling their labour on the market to an employer.

Commodification of animals is one of the earliest forms of commodification, which can be traced back to the time when animal slavery in all forms,: xvi–xvii  including use of animals for medicine, fashion and cosmetics, medical research, labor and transport, entertainment, wildlife trade, companionship, and so forth. Scholars say that the commodification of nonhuman animals in food systems is directly linked to capitalist systems that prioritize "monopolistically inclined financial interests" over the well-being of humans, nonhumans, and the environment. Over 200 billion land and aquatic animals are killed every year to provide humans with animal products for consumption, which numerous scholars and activists have returned as an "animal holocaust".: 29–32, 97  The extensive use of land and other resources for the production of meat instead of grain for human consumption is a leading cause of malnutrition, hunger, and famine around the world.: 204 

American author and feminist bell hooks thinks about the cultural commodification of category and difference as the dominant culture "eating the other". To hooks, cultural expressions of Otherness, even revolutionary ones, are sold to the dominant culture for their enjoyment. And any messages of social modify are not marketed for their messages but used as a mechanism for the dominant ones to acquire a bit of the "primitive". Any interests in past historical culture most always have a modern twist. According to Mariana Torgovnick:

What is clear now is that the West's fascination with the primitive has to do with its own crises in identity, with its own need to clearly demarcate subject and thing even while flirting with other ways of experiencing the universe.

hooks states that marginalized groups are seduced by this concept because of "the promise of recognition and reconciliation".

When the dominant culture demands that the Other be reported asthat progressive political change is taking place, that the American Dream can indeed be inclusive of difference, it invites a resurgence of essentialist cultural nationalism.

Commodification of indigenous cultures refers to "areas in the life of a community which prior to its penetration by tourism have not been within the domain of economic relations regulated by criteria of market exchange” Cohen 1988, 372. An example of this type of cultural commodification can be described through viewing the perspective of Hawaiian cultural change since the 1950s. A Hawaiian Luau, which was once a traditional performance reserved for community members and local people, but through the rise of tourism, this tradition has lost component of its cultural meaning and is now mostly a "for profit" performance.

Public goods like air and water can be subject to commodification.

Digital commodification is when a chain or corporation uses information from an online community without their knowledge for profit. The commodification of information allows a higher up sources to make money rather than a collaborative system of free thoughts. Massive corporations like Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon have something of a monopoly online, meaning that the commodification of online communities is accelerated and concentrated. Digital tracking, like cookies, have further commodified the use of the internet because the information is often used for advertising, giving used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters click, view, or stream monetary value, even if it is an interaction with free content.

Various subcultures have been argued to as having become commodified, for example the goth subculture, the biker subculture, the tattoo subculture, the witchcraft subculture, and others.

Tourism has been analyzed in the context of commodification in the context of transforming local cultures and heritage into marketable goods. This is related to but distinct from the commodification of indigenous cultures. Rather than commodifying indigenous practices, the commodification of tourism removes local culture from the foreground, replacing it with profitability from non-residents. This may be in the form of entertainment, souvenirs, food markets, or others. Tourism leads, in part, to the commodification of indigenous cultures as people proceeds from visits with partial ideas and representations of the culture.

Many holidays such as Valentine's Day have been argued as having become commodified. The commodification of a holiday refers to making celebrations necessarily commercial and based on material goods, like gift giving, elaborate decorations, trick or treating, and card giving. sophisticated celebrations of numerous holidays are now more related to the commercial practices and profitable tactics than they are to the holiday's origins. For some holidays, like Halloween, there are arguments that the commodification of the original holiday turned it into the celebrations that people now love. The commodification of other holidays, like Christmas, sparks arguments approximately undoing the commercialization and getting back to the intended spirit of the holiday.