Consumption

 

In “The eaters and the Eaten”, John Berger outlines the socioeconomics of consumption, or, put plainly, the relationships different classes have with food. In Berger's argument, the two distinct classes, the peasants and the bourgeoise, have distinct relationships to food that are defined by their relationships to work, and to each other.  Where the peasant, Berger tells us, might have their most important meal in the middle of the day, the bourgeoise has theirs at the end. This has to do with each group’s relationship to work, the peasant’s life is so defined by work, that their primary meal is defined by it, whereas the life bourgeoise is so luxurious that their primary meal is one of relaxation. So too, these meals enlighten us to each group’s relationship to others. Peasant meals are a social event in which everyone touches and shares everything, a sort of communion. The bourgeoise meal is one in which everything is clean, separate, and untouched, typically waited on by servants. There is also the connection to the material to consider. A peasant meal is often defined by the fruit of his labor, he eats what he grows or produces. The meal of the bourgeoise is an abstract, he has no relationship to what he is eating. 

I quite enjoyed this reading, I thought it was fun and insightful, and also a little snide. It was also useful. When talking about consumption in a global society, it is helpful to consider your relationship to what you are consuming, and how that defines your socioeconomic position.