More on Bauman, since that last post was getting too long: Consumerism, we (especially Christians) tend to think, is driven by desire; if so, perhaps the solution is to limit or suppress desire. Bauman points out that the goal of consumer economies is to render desires irrelevant to consumption. Desires may be cultivated and honed and shaped. What drives consumerism is not desire but whim and the momentary impulse of covetousness. Resistance to the lure of consumerism thus does not arise from suppressing desire, but through cultivating and strengthening desire, through training desire in passion for what is truly desirable.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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