“So the Last Will Be First”: Cancel Culture as an Instrument of Symbolic Policy

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of “cancel culture” through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic space. This approach allows us to go beyond traditional ethical and political frameworks, connecting cancel culture to the processes of building collective identity through social exclusion and ostracism. In order to establish its boundaries, a community needs to define specific symbolic capital, which is reflected in both unifying symbols and the ways it distinguishes itself from others. This opposition is primarily expressed through negative symbols that help create a distinct identity. Cancel culture functions as a tool in the struggle for symbolic capital, leading to a restructuring of roles within the social landscape. This results in the emergence of four distinct groups: the “canceled,” the “cancelers–initiators,” the “cancelers–executors,” and the “authorities.” The interactions among these groups foster the development of new identities. It is concluded that in today’s public space, where virtualization accelerates the creation and dissemination of identifying symbols, various forms of identity are being formed. The process of canceling initiates a dual dynamic: it not only defines the identity of the canceling community but also encourages the communities of those canceled to fight for a positive redefinition of their own symbolic capital.