In La société de la consommation (1970; The Consumer Society) the sociologist Jean Baudrillard wrote of how the urbanization and industrialization of human life had created new rarities: “space and time, clean air, greenery, water, silence . . . Some goods, previously free and readily available, are becoming luxury goods that only a privileged few can enjoy, while manufactured goods or services are widely available.” This fits with my sense that luxuries can now be defined negatively: not owning […]

Categories: William Eaton, ZiR • Tags: Bob Dylan, consumerism, death, music, noise, Pascal, silence