Patriotic Nationalism as Commodity

Abstract

In stark contrast to the Mao era, today’s party propaganda has adapted to consumer culture. This chapter argues that ideology and patriotism under Xi have been transformed into commodity and fashion. The chapter examines the mechanism of commodifying ideology from three angles. The first are the more traditional media and popular cultural products such as movies and CCTV New Year’s Gala. The second is through the enterprise of “telling China’s story” exemplified by venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs such as Eric Xun Li and Rao Jin, whose enterprises support party-endorsed popular intellectuals such as Jin Canrong, Zhang Weiwei, and Hu Xijin. The third is through the we-media, o..