Sociological Perspective

Branding Growth - Can we see a Sustainable Cool beyond Material Wealth?

 

Prof. Dr. Claude Siegenthaler, oikos Advisor
Dr. Claus Noppeney, CNC Berlin

 

Teaser:

As the long anticipated environmental and social limits to material growth unfold as an inconvenient truth, we have to admit that economics has so far failed to address the cognitive divide between the rational consciousness of ecological limits and the emotional cool of material growth.

Looking into the fabrication of social status by science, politics, commerce and media, we have remained with the traditional encoding of success by symbols bound to material affluence. And psychologists warn us about the mental disorders by growing numbers of people that give in to the world of the modern superstars and fail to meet their standards. From such a perspective, the culture of growth - with its definition of success and design of appealing symbols is key for sustainability.

In the workshop “Branding Growth” we are going to analyse the current culture of material growth, its verbal and visual encoding in economics, business education and marketing. What are the driving forces behind the current mainstream? Does a new sustainable cool exist? What is its code? How should we brand it?