The day began in the late 19th century when department stores started to sponsor Thanksgiving Day parades, the most famous being the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Retailers sought to mark the opening of the holiday shopping season with blow-out sales that put their books "in the black" (hence the name Black Friday). Stores would traditionally open their doors at 6:00 a.m., until recently when stores began opening their doors at midnight or earlier Thanksgiving night.
So what does any of this have to do with Thomas Hobbes and his State of Nature? Along with all of the consumerism and capitalism that Black Friday brings comes a much more brutal side of the day. In recent years, Black Friday outings have been ending in tragedy with multiple deaths as well as injuries resulting from the pandemonium. Most famous is the Walmart worker who was trampled to death at a Long-Island store in 2008. The chaotic customers had stampeded into the store, eager to get marked down TV's and Laptops when the man was trampled.
The violence that comes along with these shopping sprees started making me think: What would Hobbes think about all of this? After all, these news stories sound much like the "life is nasty, brutish, and short" sentiments of Hobbes.
Just as a refresher, Hobbes believed in a state of nature where people were inherently selfish, violent, fearful, and irrational. Sound like Black Friday Shopping to you?
When shoppers are lining up to buy the latest video game, or to save $100 on that new HD TV they are essentially just worrying about themselves. They want what is best for them and that is what creates these crazy stories of people pepper spraying each other over Xbox Games.
Some would obviously argue that these people aren't being selfish because they are trying to buy gifts for their family, but I would argue that they are essentially trying to fulfill their own moral obligations of holiday shopping.
I think Hobbes would say that while Black Friday shopping certainly doesn't provide for a perfect match to his state of nature, it does capture key elements of selfishness, fear, and violence. Each shopper adopts an "every man for himself attitude" that could be associated with the Hobbsean state of nature.
In the words of an enraged YouTube user after viewing the Walmart video.
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| They must have been reading some Hobbes! (or some Marxist theory...) |
I think that Black Friday is similar to Hobbes' idea of a state of nature. While buying gifts for one's family obviously isn't selfish, I think that Black Friday shopping has escalated over the years into a selfish act. It is ridiculous that stores are now beginning to open on Thanksgiving evening for Black Friday shopping - I think that anyone who takes time away from their family to go shopping is acting selfishly, even if they are buying presents for their family. They are acting selfishly by not spending time with their family and also because although they could go shopping any other day, they want to save their own money by shopping on Black Friday/Thanksgiving. Black Friday is also ridiculous because of the great lengths people go to in order to save money (i.e. camping outside in front of stores) and also because of the violence that has occurred. Black Friday has gotten way out of hand, and I think the comparison to Hobbes' state of nature is a good one.
ReplyDeleteHey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with that Black Friday is becoming a hectic and crazy day. I disagree with your interpretation, however, of Hobbes' state of nature as it relates to Black Friday because Hobbes' is making a generalization of society, while you are choosing a couple hours out of a year to personify all of society. Hobbes' did believe that our state of nature was violent, but he thought everybody was like that. Black Friday is crazy, but it is not frequent or long enough to confirm Hobbes' state of nature.
Mark,
DeleteYou make a good point, but my argument was more about what Hobbes would think about Black Friday. I don't think Hobbes would say that Black Friday constitutes the belief that everyone is inherently violent; I just think that Hobbes would say Black Friday illustrates key elements of his idea of state of nature (even if it is an isolated incident). Thanks for your comment!
Black Friday is a perfect example of man's selfishness and just how far people will go to fulfill their own desires. My friend's brother waited in line at a Best Buy from 6am Thursday morning til it opened, meaning he missed Thanksgiving dinner with his family. But at least he'll let them come over and watch the games in HD on his new ridiculous TV. What so many people don't recognize is that retailers are actually forced to offer deals throughout the holiday season up until Christmas day – because if they didn’t the leading competition will be sure to up-stage them in sales. Anyways, I can definitely say I don't partake in the festivities for one because it scares me. And that is certainly a Hobbes' theory that we live in fear because we are all capable of killing one another. So I would have to disagree with Mark's comment above, I think Black Friday is a perfect lens into Hobbes' theory of the state of nature.
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Hobbes would view Black Friday as a perfect example of his version of a state of nature. Hobbes' state of nature is based around the self-interest of people. He believes people are in a perpetual state of war due to the competitive fear that is instilled within us. Therefore, individuals are inclined to fight for themselves - which is exactly what these maniac Black Friday shoppers seem to do (no offense). People are evidently focused on themselves as they trample others while racing through the opening doors of stores. They do not appear to be cautious of the people around them nor do they seem to care. Instead, their one and only focus is themselves.
We can picture this fight among these shoppers as Hobbes' description of a state of war. People are fearful of others getting the product they want, therefore, they act aggressively toward those they are competing with. They definitely are not acting in coordination with the christmas spirit of giving to others. Instead, these people are selfishly ripping things from the hands of others.
To expand on your post a little more, I want to relate this relationship between Hobbes and Black Friday to my psychology class. According to psychology, this event would not actually relate to an individual intentionally harming another person for their own sake. Instead, this sort of aggression is affiliated with the concept of instrumental aggression: aggression as a means to some other goal other than causing pain. However, I guess we could view this instance as an individual's goal to beat others to a product rather than an ambition to hurt someone. Therefore, in relation to psychology, Black Friday would only relate to Hobbes if the shoppers were not trying to intentionally hurt someone, but rather accidentally inflict pain on others while trying to obtain a certain goal. I bring this up because we were shown the same YouTube video in my psychology discussion as the one who have linked to your post (under pandemonium - http://www.ranker.com/list/13-most-brutal-black-friday-injuries-and-deaths/john-barryman?page=1). I thought it'd be an interesting topic to bring up in coordination with the relationship you have configured!
Overall, great post, Kevin! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
HEy this is a very interesting analysis I couldnt help but laugh when i read it. I think that the shoppers do take on an every man for himself survival skill. I would have never thought that people have died from shopping. Do you think it is possible to tie in having dirty hands with black friday shopping? I have never been black friday shopping but i can imagine people doing morally wrong things in order to get the things they want.
ReplyDelete