Readings on consumerism and moral extremism
December 30, 2017 8:51 AM   Subscribe

My wife and daughter are having a girls' night with my MIL and SIL tonight, so I find myself with time for some light, enjoyable reading. I was just reading the comments on the FPP about clean eating, and I'd like more of that.

Specifically, what I'm interested in is the intersection of consumerism and moral extremism. "You must buy and use x or you're a terrible person." The more obscure and insignificant x is, the better.

I'm not looking for merely consumerism and perceived aptitude (e.g., I worked in a hockey store after college, and people thought buying more expensive gear would make them better players). There must be a moral component as well, especially if it's taken to an unreasonable degree.

I'm interested in both specific examples like the orthorexia article, as well as more general examinations of the phenomenon.
posted by kevinbelt to Society & Culture (4 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Fruit. Just fruit.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:14 AM on December 30, 2017


Anything about child rearing - breast vs bottle, attachment vs whatever they think everyone else does.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:16 AM on December 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Against Health and The Wellness Syndrome
posted by orangejenny at 2:25 PM on December 30, 2017


One of the best books on moral eating I've read is called Courtesans and Fishcakes, which is about the morality of eating (and other consumption) in Ancient Athens.

As it turns out, Athenian moralists were just as fussy and arbitrary about "good" versus "bad" eating behaviors as ours are today, and it's fascinating how that morality overlaps with their morality of consuming sex, alcohol, and other indulgences.
posted by Ndwright at 9:22 PM on December 30, 2017


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