mainstream-cooptation

The chapter 'Part IV. Wealth against Commonwealth Revisited' critically examines the commodification of cultural dissent within late capitalist society, highlighting The Baffler's role as an independent voice resisting mainstream cultural co-optation. It traces the consolidation of American cultural production under a few dominant corporations, termed the 'Culture Trust,' which manage culture as a key economic and political resource, absorbing formerly radical cultural practices into corporate management theory and extending business influence into private life. The chapter critiques the illusion of cultural democracy amid corporate monopolization and the transformation of culture into a commodified tool for capitalist power.