my secret guilty pleasure

for an anticapitalist, i really like products. i think it’s really neat how much work we as a society put in to making things that are really neat and cool and interesting. i love it when people from all sorts of niche hobbies go around examining a wide swath of products to carefully compare the subtle differences in quality and vibe. i love the way these objects are designed, from the utilitarian to the minimalist to the maximalist. and i also really love it when people learn and feel out how these products work into their life, and what types of things matter to them, and what kinds don’t. i know that this isn’t an uncommon opinion; we’re groomed at a young age to cultivate a reverence for products, strong associations between brands, and a passion for consumerism, and i know that i’ve gotten sucked into it into that mindset. but even then, i’ll still find it endlessly fascinating.