Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Kim Kardashian and the Work Ethic of the One-Percent


As we've all heard about ad nauseam, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are calling it quits after 72 days of marriage. Their wedding has turned out to be a publicity stunt par excellence. The two have earned an estimated $18 million, with Kardashian averaging about $10,000 per hour of matrimony. 

Perhaps Kardashian is just doing her job. She, after all, describes herself as a "business woman." On NPR's "All Things Considered," Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce spoke gushingly of her, calling her a "hustler," who is able to make money even in this economy. 

What exactly is Kim Kardashian's work ethic? She canoodles with famous men, puts the evidence on display, garners extensive media attention, and then receives millions of dollars. Kardashian has achieved fame not because of her hard work, measurable accomplishments, and character. She has become rich and famous as a personality. This is, after all, the diligence that our society rewards. It's not how you become wealthy and well-known, it's whether you do. 

Kardashian is of the same nature as other "job creators" that the One-Percent holds in such high regard: a talentless wretch who provides no discernable contribution to society, yet only seems to get richer and richer. She exemplifies the greed, extravagance, and perversions of justice that form the bases of social unrest. Amidst untold suffering and economic collapse, individuals like Kim Kardashian, with no skill, knowledge or intellect, prosper, while hard-working people fall into poverty. This is what a dead-end economic system produces, and a morally and intellectually bankrupt society adores. People like Kim Kardashian are why citizens have taken to the streets.

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