The glorification of the “real” in Western societies is reaching new heights. Or perhaps new lows, I should say. Craving the “real” to satiate ourselves, we eagerly embark on the quest to find our “real” and “authentic” self, without giving much thought to the cost. After all, even in the midst of the haunting fear of failing in any of our social roles, one of our greatest fears is—as Richard Rorty has accurately pointed out—the horror of finding oneself “to be only a copy or a replica.”[1]

But what kind of a promise does the idea of authenticity hold that makes it so desirable? Well, the strongly simplified answer is that it holds a promise to provide an “inner bastion”—a sanctuary offering a strong sense of self and purpose in a rapidly changing environment. But several critics have argued this is an illusion and self-defeating. The philosopher Theodor W. Adorno warned that the “liturgy of inwardness” is an empty substitute for lost ethical values, and it relies on a crude picture of the self-possessing individual.[2] The historian Christopher Lasch warned that the quest for authenticity regresses into narcissist behavior that may actually undercut a stable sense of self.[3]

Still, one might think that the “inner bastion” can at least offer some protection from the influence of expanding market forces that promote conformism and compliance. This could occur in the realm of work, which has stereotypically been depicted as a social sphere where individuals relinquish their personal values and commitments that define who they are. On this point, critics like sociologist Daniel Bell were less concerned that authenticity is an illusion, but more that it adds to the erosion of the foundations of market mechanisms that are “based on a moral system of reward rooted in the Protestant sanctification of work.”[4]

Those who share this worry may feel relief in light of recent changes in the contemporary workplace. The Harvard Business Review reports that employees are now not only encouraged to “bring their whole selves to work,” but that authenticity has become the new “golden standard.”[5] At the same time, popular self-help manuals reassure that creating an authentic “personal brand” is not about distorting oneself to meet market requirements.[6] Rather, it is about discovering “who we really are,” while simultaneously communicating our “unique personal value” on the market. The logic is unambiguously articulated in the title of the widely-read self-help manual Achieve More of What You Want by Being More of Who You Are.[7]

Undoubtedly, some will react with skepticism and raise questions about the developments that have led to this peculiar turn. How is it possible that employees are encouraged to express aspects of their personhood that were once unacceptable in corporate culture? What is the nature of the changes that enable authenticity—once conceived of in terms of an “inner bastion” resistant to market requirements—to function as an institutionalized demand in contemporary capitalism?

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 "One may worry that the quest for authenticity has lost its critical potential and helps neutralize the struggle for social justice..."
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