TyG - Hebdige - R.I.P. Common Sense

According to Dick Hebdige (spell it, maybe; pronounce it correctly, never), ideology's normal, healthy home is "beneath conciousness," that it's transformed into what is popularly referred to as "normal common sense," the underlying personal but societal map that each person follows unconsciously. The idea that this ideology, this so-called common sense, may hide from daylight sounds likely: although he disparages the idea of ideology as "world view"(148), I rather like that term for the thing -- as I understand the concept, our world view functions much as does a pair of eyeglasses, influencing (focusing or blurring) our perceptions and affecting our interpretation of everything we encounter -- EXCEPT that we do not consciously don our worldview, it's more like RK surgery done while we sleep.

So, why do I feel common sense is dead? Many years ago, a boss complained to me of the difficulty he had finding workers with "common sense" (he was not criticizing me, he was happy with my "rare gift"). I replied that common sense had died out long ago, and that what is necessary today is to clearly and unambiguously outline for employees exact, measurable expectations, then to follow up with periodic check-ups, and, finally, to tweak instructions as needed (thank you, Philip Crosby). He hemmed and hawwed, and I went away before he could find something wrong with my performance.

Common sense, per Hebdige, is one thing to the ruling order, and another thing to each of the subcultures or counter-cultures around that hegemony -- in effect, common sense is no longer "common" between the ruling class -- ie employers -- and the ruled class -- employees. My "rare gift" was a product of my family upbringing, my race, my education, all the things that comprise what I know as worldview and Hebdige titles ideology. Others that this middle-class white male had hired were less similar to him, and their "common" did not match his. The only solution, besides hiring only people who pass the "just-like-me" test, is to draw a clear picture of job requirements and follow through on the process -- or maybe to keep hiring "losers" so you can complain loud and long about what the world is coming to...

R.I.P. Common Sense