It is only a matter of time. As capital connects more and more markets and cities, people are "created" who follow that capital -- who are chased by it, in Marx's terms -- and they identify with a more international ethos. As this identification must happen for business purposes, new conceptions of self are created that are not tied explicitly to the local. Watch Ford Motor Co. do its part, entirely unwittingly:
Ford’s goal in using made-up characters is that they will help produce cars that transcend national traits and are instead built around international, psychological archetypes. Antonella is an extreme version of a type the Ford designers call the fun-seeker.
“There are fun-seekers in London and Cleveland,” Mr. Callum said.
But the image of the fun-seeker appears sharply etched and more extreme when set in Rome. “In Rome there are lots of small cars,” Mr. Yalman said. “They are always dodging each other. So a car there has to be nimble and it has to look the part. Romans have been conscious of how their vehicles look — all the way back to Caesar. Every little crease of their toga has to be just right.”
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