I’ve noticed a disturbing trend the last few years. That is the business of morality. No, i don’t mean the church. (Although that is just as much of a business as anything else) I’m talking about companies that exist to give yuppies that warm fuzzy feeling because they’re able to pay more for a product, or pay a company to offset the damage done by their rampant consumerism.
First there are carbon offsets. A modern version of indulgences. For those that don’t know indulgences were available from the catholic church during medieval times. Indulgences essentially existed so you could sin. However, they cost money, so obviously this church sanctioned sinning was only available to the rich. What do carbon offsets do? They allow you to pay a company to offset your carbon footprint. While the company will tell you to reduce energy use and offset what can’t be reduced how many people do you think will do this? In my personal opinion if it was discovered that cell phones and remote controls were the cause of global warming people would still use those things. A lot of people ‘care’ about global warming as long as they can act outraged while their personal lives are unaffected. And once again it’s only the rich that can afford it.
Then there’s organic meat. I’ve been known to purchase organic products. I do it because i don’t want chemicals and hormones in my food. I care absolutely nothing about the animals. The truth of the matter is, if you shop at a place like whole foods your beef and chicken is being treated almost as poorly as if you shopped at a national grocery chain like safeway. Do you really believe that beef, chicken, and pork can be supplied to all those whole foods around the country and still be raised humanely? Free range chicken, grain fed beef, these are all buzz words to increase the price and make you feel better about yourself. And just like the carbon offsets, again it’s only the rich who can afford it.
The thing is, making a person feel better about themselves is how consumerism got to the point it is in the first place. Long ago people only purchased based on what they needed. Now they purchase based on ‘lifestyle’. They buy brand x jeans and y car because they believe it somehow informs who they are to others. So in this climate of consumerism where your very identity can be purchased, why not your morality too? Only for the rich though.
Posted on June 9th, 2008 by phaedrus
Filed under: general taste
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