The shift that Maffesoli defines—from mass to disindividuation—can be seen in the design of cultural definition, separation and distinction, all of which are typical processes utilised by subculturalists and post-subculturalists. In 2009, art and design curator and theorist Hans Ulrich Obrist interviewed social critic Raoul Vaneigem, for publishing platform and archive E-Flux. During the interview, Vaneigem states “This process of re-appropriation that I foresee has a name: self-management” (Obrist & Vaneigem, 2009 [Interview transcript]). In The Revolution of Everyday Life Vaneigem predicts the re-appropriation of social arrangements as a means of creating revolutionary potential. While subculture created distinction through the consumption of style, post-subculture attempts to move forward, creating self-managed social organisations whose participants share synergistic lifestyles and can cooperate temporarily towards shared goals. Vaneigem believes that the future will be populated by self-sufficient independent groups, and frames the transition towards this, as the revolution of everyday life (Vaneigem, 1967).

PreviousNext