Coercion : Why We Listen to What "They" Say

Coercion : Why We Listen to What "They" Say

By: Douglas Rushkoff  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Marketing continues to grow more aggressive, and Rushkoff tracks the increasingly coercive techniques it employs to ingrain its message in the minds of consumers, as well as the results: toddlers can recognize the golden arches of McDonald's, young rebels get tattooed with the Nike swoosh, and news stories are increasingly taken verbatim from company press releases. "Corporations and consumers are in a coercive arms race," argues Rushkoff. "Every effort we make to regain authority over our actions is met by an even greater effort to usurp it." As he surveys the visual, aural, and scented shopping environment and interviews salesmen, public relations men, telemarketers, admen, and consumers, Rushkoff--who admits to being one of "them" in his occasional capacity as paid corporate consultant--concludes that "they" are just "us" and that the only way the process of coercion can be reversed is to refuse to comply. "Without us," he assures, "they don't exist." --Kera Bolonik

Publisher: Riverhead Trade

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Eye-opening analysis of our vulnerabilities - Even those of us who believe ourselves to be savvy consumers, and strive to be rational beings, are prey to subtle forms of manipulation that affect not only what we buy, but how we vote, what we do, and even what we think! Rushkoff's analysis of atmospherics, spectacles, public relations, advertising, pyramids (or Ponzi schemes) and virtual marketing is enlightening -- although I do think the parallel he draws between Apple and a cult is far-fetched (but then, so would say a true cult convert!) The hand-to-hand chapter on sales techniques is fascinating. I am still trying to figure out how ever I'll manage to resist some of the clever approaches used to create goodwill, instill confusion and elicit compliance. The state of suspended animation achieved by good salesmen is also used by CIA interrogators and based on dissociation, when one's current situation is reframed in fantasy (e.g. during a demo drive, when the customer is asked whether that's the type of vehicle he would like to own, it is the same as if while reading a book, you were asked if this is the kind of book you can imagine yourself reading). I was surprised at the author's respect (and resulting wariness) for neuro-linguistic programming (he claims NLP trechniques are used for mass manipulation while they should be restricted to therapists); my understanding is that NLP is a monumental hoax. Mr. Rushkoff may not be as immune to cultish fads as he believes himself to be, but then he is still young, if no longer the 26-year-old who was, for a while, seduced enough by a New Age cult to pay for two or three 200$ "color cleansings".

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Solid book, disturbing topic - This book by Douglas Rushkoff provides a solid and useful analysis of how influence specialists shape our physical environments and our thoughts in order to try to direct our behavior to serve their interests. Such specialists include advertisers, salespeople, public relations specialists, politicians, and religious leaders, and their aims are usually money and/or power.

One of the challenges we face is that, as we eventually catch on to their tactics, they keep adapting, creating a sort of race in which they try to stay one step ahead. Rushkoff correctly lays much of the blame for our susceptibility on consumerism, but of course the vulnerability of unconscious processes to manipulation is an even deeper and more general explanation. His analysis of cults in this regard is especially perceptive and also somewhat chilling.

Rushkoff doesn't really provide much advice on how to protect oneself against manipulation, other than to try to transcend consumerism and to be wary. The former is hard to do because it requires changing an entire culture, and the latter is only partially effective, not to mention wearying and prone to fostering cynicism or even paranoia if vigilance is taken to an extreme. Nevertheless, better to try to be reasonably on guard against manipulation rather than having one's strings pulled like a puppet.

Not a fun book, but I recommend it.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A Convincing Read in the Perils of Consumerism - This is an engrossing read, complete with the examples, stories, and clear cult-like strategies that our manipulative consumer culture has created.

I was immediately a fan of the author's research, which I thought was extensive and well-focused. He produces numerous examples of manipulative psychology at work in the mall, car dealerships, and multi-level marketing pyramids.

The book itself is highly seductive, and I can vividly remember several stories he tells, most notably his opening tale on a salesman. The man, who [...] an elderly couple out of several thousand for a piece of furniture, had asked the wife about their family. Their grandson, it turned out, was paralyzed in an accident, and her husband had much grief about it. "He's holding on to the pain," he tells her, "he's got to think of himself too." With that, the salesman started them on a 'road to recovery' that started with a new $4000 bed and his $1,500 commission.

The research on malls and consumer culture is enthralling, and I found it fascinating how persistent this arms race between consumers and corporations is. Entire malls are designed in labyrinthine styles, psychologists watch for signs of Muzak effectiveness, and salespeople are charged into deluded self-belief and psychological warfare tactics that are beyond comprehension. Even when people unite to create a free service, like the Internet, the processes of marketing modify it into a slower, more distorted, and socially-passive means of communication.

This book is comprehensive, and I highly recommend it as a read of marketing/media studies.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
MOSTLY ON THE MONEY. - COERCION is well written and interesting reading matter. Much of what Rushkoff reports is accurate, but what he reports isnt the whole story, and it includes his cynical spin.

True, manipulation is America's favorite sport and pasttime. But Rushkoff only considers exploitation outcomes. A lot of manipulation isnt evil at all. Bald manipulation is how you motivate many people to do what they fear or believe is impossible. Without manipulation most of us will sit on the curb content to watch the parade pass us by.

Good grooming is manipulation. Perfume is manipulation. Good cooking and excellent service is manipulation. Gold stars are manipulation.

In fairness, I learned a lot about how unethical people manipulate and exploit others. I give the book a 4 because of Rushkoff's research and explanations of how the bad stuff happens. But not all of it is evil.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Disturbing - Quite dense material.
Makes you uneasy often - like explaining to the happy crowd of 'The Island' what reality is.

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