Consumerism – American Times

Don’t Tax Black Friday

November 25, 2011Erik Kain

I suspect that at the heart of Robert Frank’s New York Times piece about ending the Black Friday madness rests two things: first, a sense that such overt consumerism is the hallmark of capitalism and that capitalism is somehow morally insufficient; and second, a distaste for the aesthetic of Black Friday – all those plebes […]

The Dalai Lama is Wrong

October 12, 2011Erik Kain

This quotation from the Dalai Lama has been making the rounds. It’s one of those irksome sentiments that sounds really wise and profound and makes all of us sort of cringe in self-examination. Or worse, causes us to look outward at “humanity” and think to ourselves, “Yes, all these people are living for tomorrow. They […]