In this blog post, we will look at how imaginary order forms social hierarchies and how it affects individual identity and life.
Since the birth of Homo sapiens, they formed groups to protect themselves from external threats. Realizing that being part of a social group is more beneficial to their well-being than being alone, they maintained and expanded their groups. To efficiently manage their growing groups, Homo sapiens built a huge cooperative network within and outside the groups. However, most networks have a hierarchical structure rather than an egalitarian one. At some point, a ruling class emerged and formed a hierarchy, and the subordinate class accepted this and created a structure in which the minority ruling class was supported by the surplus resources they produced. The ruling class strengthened their power by instilling an imaginary order within the group to solidify the hierarchical order.
The imaginary order refers to social norms that are strong enough to consistently coordinate the thoughts of the members of a group. This order has permeated the lives of Homo sapiens so deeply that there is no way for an individual to escape from it except by leaving the community. In modern society, this order is called ideology, and it has a stronger influence as the world becomes more integrated. As a result, the characteristics of each society have a strong influence on the identity of the individual.
In an imaginary order, the power of each individual is determined by the position they occupy within the group. In this article, I would like to focus on the identity that is given status, which is the origin of class systems and social discrimination. The main identities include gender, sexual orientation, nationality and race, economic status, and religion. Society creates an ideology in which certain characteristics of each identity are considered superior to others.
In modern society, there are still certain identities that are discriminated against or given privileges. Although there have been some subtle changes over time, men still have an advantage over women, heterosexuals over people with different sexual orientations, citizens of developed countries over citizens of developing countries, and Westerners or Caucasians over other races. Economically, the wealthy are superior to the poor, and religiously, Christians are superior to people of other religions. What is surprising is that these characteristics have very little basis for superiority. This is simply the result of characteristics being arbitrarily determined in an imaginary order.
An example of gender identity is that it is not natural for men to be in a more powerful position than women. In “Sapiens,” Yuval Noah Harari explains the reasons for this as strength, aggression, and survival strategies, but admits that the evidence is insufficient. In the movie “The Imitation Game,” Alan Turing contributed to the Allied victory in World War II by decrypting the German Enigma code, but was punished by the state for being gay and underwent chemical castration before taking his own life. Despite his intelligence, he was unable to overcome social discrimination, even though he made a significant contribution to the country.
Society places a premium on the characteristics of certain groups and has a strong influence on the formation of an individual’s identity. To overcome this hierarchical order, we must look at the path by which ideology is formed. When an individual is born, he or she first encounters ideology from their parents, and the influence of ideology then spreads to education, government, religion, and so on. However, the most significant influence is exerted by the media. In modern society, the media is an axis of social structure that strengthens and embodies ideology, and the ruling class uses the media to spread the ideology they want. An example of this is Bud Light’s beer commercial.
In this advertisement, a man is shown as a typical man, repeating the word “Dude!” in certain situations. For example, when a man is sitting on a sofa and another man sits next to him, he feels uncomfortable and exclaims “Dude!” This conveys the ideology of sexual orientation that prohibits men from having physical contact with each other. In another scene, the milk smells like it’s gone bad and the man exclaims, “Dude!” This reflects the stereotype that men don’t do housework. Through this ad, we naturally internalize the stereotype of men. John Swansburg of the renowned Slate magazine believes that this advertisement contributed to Bud Light’s dominance in the industry because its message was easily accepted by the general public. The advertisement evokes empathy and further reinforces stereotypes about the gender roles of men. In this process, the media instills dominant ideologies into the members of the group.
Ideologies have changed throughout history. For example, each society has abandoned imperialism and turned to globalism and liberalism. For the existing order to collapse, a new order must be more powerful, and when the new ruling class accepts and spreads it, the members of the group are influenced by the new ideology. However, modern ideologies still have not overcome the existing hierarchical order.
The role of the media is significant in terms of creating change in the existing order. In the past, the ruling class has dominated the media and strengthened the hierarchical order, but now people can access various types of media. Individuals can resist the existing order by critically accepting media from various perspectives. Parents and education are also important factors. From the perspective of parents or educators, they should spread independent awareness through the media and convey the right ideology. These individual efforts are the basis for social structural change, so they must be preceded.
Ultimately, we need a new, just and powerful leader to overcome the hierarchical order that the current ruling class is strengthening. If individual efforts come together to create social change and produce leaders with justice and humanity, these leaders can spread new ideologies through the media. However, since the new ruling class can also become corrupt over time, members should not assume that the current order will continue into the future and should not conform to the hierarchical order.
There are also concerns that social anarchy will come when there is no need for order through the process of replacing the imaginary order, that is, ideology. However, I believe that anarchy is not a result of chaos due to the lack of order, but a result of the order no longer being needed. I believe that we will be able to achieve a just and powerful imaginary order through the continuous replacement and improvement of ideology.
