Analysis Of Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard is considered as the brightest in his position, the obscurest in hiswork, and the richest in his production philosopher in France, and the most importantand instigating writer in the present age. However, to such kind of writer, he doesn'tbe paid much attention by our domestic academic circle until 1990s. "society ofconsume" and "society of sign" is the most important segment in his ideology systemand the initial stage of his thinking. In this thesis, we will try to expound theBaudrillard's "society of consume" and "society of sign" theory, so as to comprehendthe sequence of his ideas, and attempt to give a historical appraisal to his ideology.The first part is about the definition of the "society of consume" and "society ofsign". Baudrillard gives a distinct notion to consume, differed from the economistsand philosophers in the past, and the demonstration to the relationship of productionand consume, differed from Marx. At the same time, according to Marx's "society ofcommodity" and Guy Debord's "society of the spectacle", Baudrillard puts forwardthe theory of "society of sign". He analyses the capitalist society from different angles,but in reality the two concepts to the content have the same meaning. The second partdiscusses the characteristics of "society of sign" and "society of consume". In the"society of consume", product changes from unitary to system. In the product system,the product exists in the form of sign, complied with the consume changing fromproduct from sign. And in this course, the sign being coded-the product is in thedominating position. Meanwhile, subject is included by the product system, so it isdegenerate. In the third part, on the basis of "society of sign" and "society ofconsume", Jean Baudrillard poses the theory of "for a critique of the politicaleconomy of the sign". In the early stage, by joining Marx's critique of the politicaleconomy of the sign and F.de Saussure & Roland Barthes' semiotics of structuralism,he yields his theory of "society of sign" and "society of consume". These two theoriesare discussed under the logic of Marxist produce system, and Jean Baudrillard alsoconsiders himself perfecting and flourishing Marxist system. As the development ofhis thought, Jean Baudrillard realizes along with the modern transformation ofcapitalist society, the sign logic which is in the dominate position will govern theproduct and human, so the simple critique of the political economy can't fit the needof the "society of sign" and "society of consume. For this reason, Baudrillard puts forward his theory of "for a critique of the political economy of the sign". Right now,Baudrillard gradually walks out of the Marx's product logic, and "the mirror ofproduction", at last gives his "symbolic exchange" theory as the goal of his "societyof sign" and "society of consume". And in the last part, it is the historic appraisalabout Baudrillard's "society of sign" and "society of consume" theory. This theory hasimportant theoretical creative meaning. Jean Baudrillard with his "sign value" and"consume of sign" attempts to remedy the epoch which Marx doesn't encounter,which has a certain positive sense. And his theory also gives rise to the furtherreflection of the subject. However, Baudrillard completely denies the product theoryat last, which makes this theory to an impasse.