Utilitarian capitalist culture promoting 'bluff' in order to manipulate, deceive

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* 

In the age of social media and self-promotion on digital platforms, ‘bluffing’ has not only been normalised but has also become an everyday occurrence. Bluffing, both as a personal trait and as a strategy of deception, serves to fulfil transient, immediate needs while concealing individual shortcomings, failures, and inefficiencies. Bluffs exhibit overconfidence in their abilities, setting unrealistic expectations for others and themselves, which deepens self-deception. 

Ultimately, bluffing as self-deception undermines individuals' creative potential, weakens their own capabilities, and pushes them toward ruin. Bluffs live in a fool’s paradise of lies, masking their own failures at various stages of life. They are also social parasites, surviving by exploiting the blood, sweat, and hard work of others.

The dog-eat-dog-meat, utilitarian culture of capitalism promotes 'bluffing' as a strategy of manipulation and deception within its competitive environment. While bluffing may offer short-term benefits, in the long run, it exposes individuals, organisations and limits of their fraudulent practices. Finally, it becomes a social, personal, and professional liability. Frequent bluffing undermines both individual and organisational credibility. It creates a pattern of behaviour and practices that are detrimental in both the short and long term. 

Bluffing erodes the very foundation of trust in interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships and connections. Failed individuals and organisations often use 'bluffing' as a survival strategy and outsource their failures to others.

Bluffs and bluffing are products of an individualistic lifestyle promoted by feudal capitalism in various forms. Bluffing also produces bias based on exaggerated capacities and non-existent personal qualities Bluffs feel inferior and constrained every day and secretly believe they are the best and most talented individuals. They sustain themselves with this self-image and think that no one is better than they are. Such individuals avoid loyalty, accountability and transparency in their activities, as self-reflection is anathema to them.

However, capitalist culture continues to promote 'bluffing,' a practice rooted in both past and present forms of colonialism and imperialism. The colonial British slogan 'the sun never sets on the British Empire' was a 'bluffing' strategy designed to exaggerate their power and influence beyond reality. It also served as a tactic to undermine the ability of colonised peoples to resist colonialism. Similarly, modern American imperialism employs the myth of the 'American Dream' as a form of 'bluffing' to promote and sustain American hegemony over people and their resources.

The so-called nationalists, journalists, marketers, politicians, advertisers, consultants, and propagandists have turned 'bluffing' into both a profession and a skill set used to distort reality and conceal the failures of individuals, corporations, states, and governments on various issues. These individuals and organizations create a false perception of reality by following a culture of 'bluffing,' which is deeply rooted in human psychology. 

The art of bluffing normalises deception and lies. It creates conditions where bluffing ceases to be bluffing when it is normalised in a self-seeking society where my happiness is greater than everyone else’s happiness.  There is no ethics or morality in 'bluffing,' but bluffs eventually fail on the larger canvas of life by undermining human trust and integrity.

In the long run, bluffing yields nothing substantial, and those who bluff live alienated lives.

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*Scholar based in UK