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ume for attracting the opposite sex, or the cheapest form of transport etc.. They become objects of desire for an alienated workforce whose only way of staving off alienation is via the purchase of such commodities. Thus the workforce is caught in a vicious circle of work to consume to connect with gattungsleben to reduce the impact of alienation. 4.7. What's postmodern about postmodernism? From the discussion outlined above I would suggest that there are strong similarities between concepts of discourse and simulation and hegemony and political economy. The differences between discourse and simulation and the latter concepts is a matter of epistemology and ontology. Hegemony and political economy rely on a materialist perspective whilst discourse and simulation tend to deny any epistemology or ontology at all (Hollis 1995:16). In his book 'An Introduction To Theories Of Popular Culture' Dominic Strinati (1995:223-24) describes postmodern theory as being concerned with, "...a social order in which the importance and power of the mass media and popular culture means that they govern and shape all forms of social relations". Thus, popular culture and the mass media act as a mirror which reflects social reality. However, this mirror is distorted and all we can experience is a distorted simulation of reality which is created by media discourse7. What is lacking from such an approach is the recognition that the media is a subdivision of production. The media produces tangible objects such as film, magazines, newspapers, and television programmes; these are material objects in that we can touch and hold them. In addition, there are objects that the media produces that we cannot touch, they are discourse, simulation; images, stories, and ideas, these are all intangible, they exist, but we cannot hold them in our hands. 4.8. Discourse or hegemony? How then would one distinguish between discourse and hegemony, particularly in light of the emphasis that postmodernists place upon the media and my own assertion that the media is merely a hegemonic arm of production? I would argue that a discourse is any written, oral, or visual communication. Thus it encompasses books, parliamentary speeches, and advertisements etc.. The effect of discourse is to promote certain modes of behaviour or to denigrate others8, thus individuals are obliged to adhere to them in order to remain in the mainstream of society. For example, the discourses surrounding capitalist production stress the importance of wage earning, efficiency, family, morality, and to a great extent the importance of consumerism. This sounds very much like hegemonic theory. Indeed Ransome (1992:150) suggests that hegemony involves, "...cosensual control which arises when individuals 'willingly' or 'voluntarily' assimilate the world-view......of the dominant group; an assimilation which allows that group to be hegemonic". This passage seems to explain what discourse achieves and also identifies its origins. This forms the basis of my argument. 4.9. The production, validation, and consumption of the object. Production creates two distinct groups - the dominant group and the subordinate group. The dominant group can create hegemonic control for it can create ideology which validates every aspect of its existence. It influences the state, the media, and the individual and society, and so it follows that the object is created by production. That is to say that production creates the material b