Printed Palettes?

Touted by Wired.com as the catalyst for a "New Decentralized Industrial Revolution," three-dimensional printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is a technology that undoubtedly has huge implications for the future of the world (Banerjee 2015). Although the process of using printers to form three-dimensional objects has been around since the late 1980s, the progress that has been made in the last several years is truly astounding. To date, 3D printing has been used to create a variety of different items - ranging from driveable vehicles and residential structures to edible cake toppers and 3D firearms. Despite all of these recent advancements, it is still fairly unusual to hear stories of the average consumer using 3D printing for personal production. Arguably, this may not be the case for very much longer. The inevitability that 3D printing will soon become "mainstream" was made especially apparent on May 5, 2014, when a new product by the name of "Mink" was presented at "TechCrunch Disrupt" - an annual conference where entrepreneurs and technology startups have the opportunity to launch products and services for both prize money and publicity. Created by Harvard Business School graduate Grace Choi, Mink is a 3D printer that uses cosmetic grade dyes and raw material (powder substrates) to allow the consumer to create makeup products of any color within the confines of his or her own home. Choi's self-proclaimed goal in launching her product is to disrupt both the pricing and the distribution of the $55 billion dollar cosmetics industry - all in the name of defying hegemonic beauty standards and putting the power of creative choice back into the hands of the consumer (Restauri 2014).

"Choi's self-proclaimed goal in launching her product is to disrupt both the pricing and the distribution of the $55 billion dollar cosmetics industry - all in the name of defying hegemonic beauty standards"

It is near impossible to read through Choi's transcribed interviews that discuss Mink and not come to the conclusion that her thoughts (regarding both the cosmetic industry in general and the future of Mink in particular) have been greatly influenced by Marx's thoughts on capitalism and historical materialism. According to Choi, the biggest problem with the beauty industry is found in its promotion of hegemonic beauty standards (Restauri 2014). She argues that the industry defines what colors are "beautiful" from season to season by only making particular shades available to consumers for purchase - specifically choosing those palettes that they believe will garner the largest profits (Restauri 2014). Her insight regarding this particular industry is not far removed from Marx's thoughts in The German Ideology, in which he argues that a man will "produce" according to whatever material conditions are available to him - an act that, in turn, shapes the very "nature" or being of the man himself (Tucker 1978:150). In this sense, if I desire to have makeup but I am unable to produce it for myself because of a lack of knowledge and/or materials to do so, I will be forced into being dependent on those people (or companies) who can. This in turn, puts me in a position where my "own" ideals of what is considered beautiful will be shaped by the ideology of beauty that is presented to me from the cosmetic industry. According to Marx, finding myself in this predicament is unavoidable because "The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the mental means of production [. . .]" (Tucker 1978:172).

"The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the mental means of production"

Given all of this, it should come as no surprise that Choi has refused to have discussions about acquisition or equity in her company with the cosmetic companies that have reached out to her since Mink's launch at TechCrunch (Restauri 2014). The beauty industry, which has a vested interest in controlling the types of colors that are produced and desired by consumers, is right to be anxious over the potential upheaval that this 3D printer could cause. If Choi is able to lower the cost of the Mink (which will initially be sold at $300) to a price point that is accessible to consumers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, there is good reason to believe that her product could be one of the first to cause a revolution of sorts in terms of the division of labor that has become so normalized in our capitalist society. Will the Mink produce enough conflict between the two classes to completely overthrow the bourgeois and lead us into the classless society that Marx envisions in his Manifesto of the Communist Party (Tucker 1978: 473-483)? Probably not. However, it would be shortsighted for us to dismiss the very real possibility that an eventual shift or sharing in the means of production is likely to occur in the near future because of the advancing technology of the 3D printer - particularly in sectors (such as the beauty industry) that have remained previously untouched.

"The advancing field of 3D printing will end up changing our world in ways that we can only imagine at this point, specifically because it will enable 'working-class' individuals to reclaim the means of material production"

If the Mink is any indication of the type of technology that will be made accessible to the masses in the coming decades, it doesn't seem entirely far-fetched to buy into the idea that we may be witnessing the gradual start of a "Decentralized Industrial Revolution" in our global economy. Even with all the advancements that 3D printing has seen in the last few years, the pioneers of the field promise that there is still much to look forward to over the horizon - including but not limited to the 3D printing of body organs, food, and disposable clothing. The advancing field of 3D printing will end up changing our world in ways that we can only imagine at this point, specifically because it will enable "working-class" individuals to reclaim the means of material production that they are normally denied.

"We may be witnessing the gradual start of a 'Decentralized Industrial Revolution' in our global economy"

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