Sign-Value and Bourgeois Degeneracy in Moribund Superimperialism: A Case Study of Golden Goose Shoes
Carlos L. Garrido
Abstract
This article, Sign-Value and Bourgeois Degeneracy in Moribund Superimperialism: A Case Study of Golden Goose Shoes, analyzes the Golden Goose fashion phenomenon as a symptomatic expression of cultural decay in late-stage imperialist capitalism. Carlos L. Garrido argues that the exorbitant pricing and popularity of pre-distressed luxury sneakers cannot be explained by use-value or even exchange-value alone, but must be understood through the lens of sign-value — the status, exclusivity, and symbolic capital commodities accrue within consumer culture. While drawing cautiously on Jean Baudrillard, Garrido maintains a firmly Marxist position, emphasizing that sign-value is itself conditioned by capitalist relations of production and should not be treated as an autonomous sphere. Using Golden Goose as an allegory of contemporary culture, the article situates the trend within a broader historical degeneration of the bourgeois class: once a revolutionary force that produced Shakespeare, Goethe, and Beethoven, the bourgeoisie in the era of superimperialism has become parasitic, irrational, and artistically barren. Engaging Marx, Engels, Lukács, Jameson, and Che Guevara, Garrido argues that cultural “degeneracy” reflects the stagnation of productive forces under financialized capitalism, in which postmodern superficiality and nihilism dominate artistic expression. The essay concludes that while communists must cultivate dignity, decency, and cultural uplift, bourgeois degeneracy cannot be overcome through moral critique alone; only the revolutionary transcendence of capitalism can restore a higher cultural form capable of affirming human flourishing.
Keywords
sign-value, cultural degeneracy, superimperialism, luxury commodities, Marxist cultural critique, Carlos L. Garrido
