Desire in the 21st century

At Here our purpose is to make good choices desirable. As a B-Corp we are committed to doing all we can to help transform the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet by building an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative system.

For us this means operating within the capitalist system – to build brands that are desirable and therefore profitable but not at the cost of other stakeholders. Our client at Natura, Guilherme Leal, reminded us recently that “profitability is like breathing, it enables us to fight another day”: for Natura and other purpose lead brands - the fight is to use the power and reach of a brand to create desire for an ideal.

Our definition of a good choice is a brand who engaged in this fight; who uses the construct of a brand to share a positive message about society. Being clear about this enables us to ensure we partner with brands and companies that share our values.

The second part of our purpose to make these partners more desirable needs a bit of unpacking. As marketers, whether thinkers, writers, designers or makers we help sell stuff. We generate desire for things and services and as such we need to have a clear perspective on why we think desire can be a social good in itself and not simply us feeding and breeding more conspicuous consumption.

So what is desire? And why do we believe that it can help us contribute positively to society?

Philosophically desire as a concept has been on a journey from a definition as a negative – a desire for something that you lack that feels more like a need, to an idea of it as a vital active force that defines our humanity. Both an affirmation of our life will and a force that seeks more - that pushes us beyond our limitations – as Levinas in 1961 has it “desire is an ethic that opens us up to the infinite”.

In the world of consumption we believe that desire has two key characteristics - that it is mimetic - social – created by culture not intrinsic to self and also insatiable – infinite and with the potential to pull us in many different ways. Desire because it is separate and above our needs allows us to go beyond ourselves – to strive for things that reach beyond how society would constrain us.

This definition of desire, shows us that it doesn’t have to be something negative, but instead can be a force for good. If we speak about it in the terms Hannah Arendt used, we condition our environment and are conditioned by it in a reciprocal fashion. When we work, we make objects that build upon the earth.

The character of the human condition means there is always the possibility to create something new, to act in unexpected ways. Desire then, can be hopeful, it can lead us to imagine and want and ultimately put our money behind new possibilities or ideals.

For us that’s the sort of desire we want to create – desire full of intensity and intimacy that can capture the collective imagination for the long term and bring about positive change in the 21st century.