tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post381457955608728337..comments2023-11-03T08:25:59.048-07:00Comments on The Enlightenment Project: Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12587322265256780784noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-71559161450414508382007-08-31T16:25:00.000-07:002007-08-31T16:25:00.000-07:00There's a history to this in the US at least as I ...There's a history to this in the US at least as I learnt from team-teaching with a colleague in econ. Unlike Europe, which was flattened after WWII, the US had lots of productive capacity that it needed to convert to peacetime production. And that meant (1) getting women out of the labor force to make room for returning GIs and (2) creating demand for consumer products by valorizing consumption Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12587322265256780784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-10068271122977368332007-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:002007-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00Oh, very much so, the consumption as accomplishmen...Oh, very much so, the consumption as accomplishment thing. I know people like that. 'Purchasing' (never buying) the right wine, the right shoes, the right fish, the right sweater, the right countertops, the right car, the right tchotchke for the right coffee table - it's all, all an accomplishment; it's scholarship, it's art, it's 'creativity,' it's 'taste,' it's an arduous demanding Ophelia Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08000353980872079468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-48513013569803516832007-08-31T13:27:00.000-07:002007-08-31T13:27:00.000-07:00True. They're appealing to consumer tastes--and ac...True. They're appealing to consumer tastes--and achieving greatest appeal for the greatest number. It's a demand for what we think of as "good service."<BR/><BR/>But why do we want this? I'm modifying, or at least adding to my original hypothesis. I have the sense that some Americans in particular see consumption, even down to the business of buying groceries, as an <I>accomplishment</I>. We Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12587322265256780784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-41155162065220014342007-08-31T10:31:00.000-07:002007-08-31T10:31:00.000-07:00From asking some check-out people (baggers and cas...From asking some check-out people (baggers and cashiers), apparently the two items per double bag is a response to customers who cry bloody murder when the bags are too heavy or liable to squish something (at least in that customer's eyes). From the holy terror that I saw in their faces when describing these people, I can see the rationale of adopting a policy of two items per bag for every Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-80485960841536431322007-08-30T02:40:00.000-07:002007-08-30T02:40:00.000-07:00A very interesting posting from an anthropological...A very interesting posting from an anthropological point of view. In Belgium, where I live but I'm not from, supermarket chains are charging something like 5 cents of euro (about 7 cents of dollar)per plastic bag, in order to encourage people to use reusable bags. In most shops in this country, shop assistants usually ask you in advance if you need a bag for your products.<BR/>As far as I see, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-60878433072796559822007-08-29T13:42:00.000-07:002007-08-29T13:42:00.000-07:00Interesting. I love that earlier post on the aesth...Interesting. I love that earlier post on the aesthetic of toughness.<BR/><BR/>I think the pride in feebleness stuff is a regression rather than (or as well as) a transmogrification - regression back to when it was a matter of pride to Let the Servants Do That; to when a lady didn't soil her hands or go out of the house except in full makeup and high heels.<BR/><BR/>It's somehow related to this Ophelia Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08000353980872079468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-29863710210755998162007-08-28T12:33:00.000-07:002007-08-28T12:33:00.000-07:00Funny about the rich-and-pampered business--that, ...Funny about the rich-and-pampered business--that, and a lot of other Yuppie traits are what we would have regarded as at least mildly shameful years ago. Being rich and pampered was a sign of weakness--being Clara, the rich invalid, rather than Heidi, the poor country girl. Taking an interest in one's health was for old ladies--another sign of weakness--and the preoccupation with germs, Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12587322265256780784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5532040.post-3752152101430106442007-08-28T10:54:00.000-07:002007-08-28T10:54:00.000-07:00You and me both. I hate that intrusive 'are you fi...You and me both. I hate that intrusive 'are you finding everything?' thing - they actually <I>interrupt</I> you as you're in the very act of finding what you're looking for to make you pay attention to them instead - they yank you out of your train of thought and make you talk to them. It's <I>maddening</I>. I'm always muttering 'leave me alone' 'don't say anything' 'get away from me' 'don't Ophelia Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08000353980872079468noreply@blogger.com