HUMANS 101
Do I Absolutely Need a Penguin Snow Mold? Sure.
Why owning stuff is deeply human — and at times, deeply joyful
Yes, I have stopped using plastic straws, and no, I don’t support runaway capitalism. But I just bought a penguin-shaped mold for making penguin-shaped snow sculptures, and damn does it add joy to my day. I’ve already used it to whip up a blizzard of perfectly beaked snow-guys. It definitely adds a touch of happy to the gruel of shoveling out the driveway — not to mention a moment of release from the difficulties of Covid life.
In spite of my many flaws, I’m not an especially materialistic person — and “retail therapy” is not really my thing. And yet, I find that even just looking at this whimsical little blob of plastic makes me smile. So it got me thinking: What is “stuff” and how do we relate to it? And how is it that stuff can sometimes bring us joy even when we know there is more to life than doodads and even when we know there are unjust socioeconomic structures enabling its production?
The answers undoubtedly sit somewhere in the intersections of economics, psychoanalysis, and political philosophy. Which is to say: There is no quick way to answer the “stuff” questions. That said, we can perhaps begin to crack the mystery of blue-winged snow toys by considering…
