Neo-Bohemia: Art and Commerce in the Postindustrial City

About the Author

Richard Lloyd is a known social critique. His observation upon the society’s progress has naturally assisted people in seeing the situation that they are in several perspectives of social development. His approach on criticizing the present has naturally rooted from the understanding that he has gained from the past.

Through this particular process of observation and explanation of the human society’s development, Lloyd captures the attention of both the old generation and that of the new age civilization. Whereas, it is through this procedure of giving the society a glimpse of what is actually happening that more people are able to benefit from the clarity of the author’s description of the current situation.

About the Book

As mentioned earlier, the book of Lloyd attempts to clarify the actual situation that the human society is involved in at present. This particular reading, as per noted by the author, aims to show the balance as well as the imbalance that happens in the society with regards the developments that are happening with technological innovations as well as the cultural get-up of moist communities today because of the deepening effects of globalization in the lives of the people around the world.

To make the discussion less-broad, the author intended to portray the situation in the ways by which the people are situated in a small community whereas, the people’s lives are further intertwined because of the fact that they are living in a single system; a single neighborhood that makes them and their activities collaborate with that of the others. It is a process by which the author simply concise a whole wide world view into a smaller scope of area of understanding so as to be able to help the readers understand the bigger picture of the situation.

Content and Summary

In a ten-chapter–based discussion, Lloyd particularly opened the minds of the readers to the truth that globalization, technological innovation and industrialization has brought the human society with. Through the discussions of the three major agents of social advancement, Lloyd showed the benefits of the process which are mostly obvious to the human mind and understanding.

However, he also noted the negative effects of the progress as the situation becomes vulgarly connected to the devastating situations that are present in the society today. Constant agitation over the social status of the different types of people involved in the process and the ones that they particularly oppress unknowingly helped Lloyd in making his arguments quite stronger and obvious for the common mind to understand.

On Industrialization and Globalization:

Lloyd particularly recognizes the idea that obvious progress has been implied by the different procedures of industrialization that the commercial sectors of the society have implied upon the human generations through the years. The increased process of employing more and more individuals in the industries have made it possible for the developing nations to follow on through with the developments of the international trade and the world economy as well.

However, behind the developments of the society in terms of employment and commercial progress of business organizations, it is almost unnoticeable among those who are gaining profit in the system that they are already becoming wealthy at the expense of others. This is the reason why the theory of Darwinism on poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer has been developed to explain the situation. The increased number of child labor is also alarming that it has made it possible for several social organizations to put up programs avoiding the said situations.

On Technological Advancements:

The society today recognizes the idea that people today [being led by the young generation] engages in a considerable manner of accepting the advancements of technology in an undeniably welcoming manner. Most often than not, the process of technological innovation and invasion in the human society have been much beneficial at almost every cost of living in the present civilization’s process of dealing with everyday challenges and tasks.

On the contrary, the downside of the situation is that as the technological innovation increases, the dependability of the society upon the technological machines also increases. At some point, Lloyd sees this in an objective manner. However, it could not be denied that along with this particular progression in the society’s ability of facing the daily challenges that they are supposed to deal with, the willingness of people to solve things on their own have diminished. The dependability that they place upon the systems of technology actually makes it harder for the people to recognize their real capabilities in facing the difficulties of life.

Critique of the Author’s Writing Approach

Lloyd’s trademark of not using vulgar words simply to avoid boredom in the discussion has made his writing quite professional and authoritative. However, this does not mean that the book was such a bore. In fact, reading tit makes it easier for the readers to understand the social situation in a better picture that suits their comprehension.

Most likely, reading through the pages of the reading naturally helps the readers see the approach of the writer as rather friendly yet authoritative, this means that the values of the readers as the ones to comprehend upon the reading is conscientiously carried on through the process by the author. Through this approach, the book was not a bore, but an interesting material that serves as an impeccable picture of the reality of situations happening in the society today.

Overall Reaction and Recommendation

The reading as per authored by Richard Lloyd is a fine read for every social studies students who are aiming to see the human situation in a much more practical picture. The metaphors and the illustrations used by the author in this reading also makes it a fine read for ordinary people who simply want to know about the different developments in the society and how they particularly affect the lives of the human generations in a much more practical manner. The usage of the words and the choice of language tone on the part of the author makes this particular read applicable for all the ages wanting to learn about the society as well. Overall, Lloyd’s book is indeed a fine read.

Reference:

Richard Lloyd. (2005). Neo-Bohemia: Art and Commerce in the Postindustrial City. Routledge; 1 edition.