A Blessing of Nature

For the vast majority of people living in the US and in other industrialized nations, we no longer make our own goods. Clothes, furniture, etc. All of these goods are made in far away countries as opposed to by our own hands. Jean Baudrillard asserts that "once severed from its objective determinations, the profusion of goods is felt as a blessing of nature, as a manna, a gift from heaven". We go to stores, and as if by magic, the thing we are seeking is there. It appears almost without origin and through no work of our own. And if the concept of finding items in a store is a blessing of nature, then the ultimate gift must be online shopping.

In recent years, online shopping has grown tremendously. If you really think about it, online shopping is pretty miraculous. You go to Google Shopping, type in whatever your looking for, click a few links, enter a few numbers, and then it magically appears on your front doorstep. Americans are turning more often to online shopping as opposed to traditional shopping. Coupons, sales, bargains, not to mention a huge selection of goods are just a few of the advantages of shopping online. Companies take advantage of this consumer interest, especially during the holiday season. In December, 36 million consumers visited coupon sites to get discounts for online shops. Not to mention massive online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart that have capitalized and grown due to this interest. EBay, a name that is synonymous with internet shopping, has grown tremendously in the past year. The company's e-commerce sites have grown 15%, with much of the business coming from outside the United States.

All human societies started out as producers. They scavenged, hunted, grew their food, and made their goods. But those times have fallen by the wayside. Our society has become one of consumers. And as a result of this we have become dependent on other societies to produce and the daily miracles that are sites like Amazon, eBay, and others.

Works Cited:

The New York Times "More Shoppers Go Online, Hungry for Deals"

The New York Times "EBay’s Profit Rises Sharply, Aided by Sale of Skype"

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