Marketing - the whore of Babylon?

• Published in: European journal of marketing Vol. 31; no. 9/10; pp. 654 - 666
• Main Authors: Robson, Ian, Rowe, Jim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford, West Yorkshire MCB UP Ltd 01-10-1997; Emerald Group Publishing, Ltd; MCB Publications; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Analysis; Christianity; Eschatology; Marketing; Modernism; Positive science; Positivism; Postmodernism; Religion; Social aspects; Europe; Postmodernism; Positive science; Marketing
• ISSN: 0309-0566; 1758-7123
• DOI: 10.1108/03090569710179959

In the Book of Revelation, the "whore of Babylon" is a metaphor for Satan. In applying this religious analogy to the current state and status of marketing thought, deliberately takes an anti-positivist and an anti-modernist stance, metaphorically replacing modernism and positivism with "The Mother of Prostitutes" (Rev. 17:5). Evaluates the applicability of the eschatological metaphor within the context of the current modernist postmodernist debate. In using the analogy of the religious (essentially Christian) perspective of the end of the world, the analysis which follows utilizes biblical text and Christian concepts to illuminate and enhance the discussion.