special shopocalypse issue (nov 07)
11.07
what would jesus buy?
by MHP
If we’re conscious of buying clothes and goods that are made on the backs of children, in places where people work in slave-like conditions, shouldn’t our reaction be similar to the Christian Abolitionists 200 years ago who refused sugar in their tea because of the enslavement of cane field workers?
by MHP
If we’re conscious of buying clothes and goods that are made on the backs of children, in places where people work in slave-like conditions, shouldn’t our reaction be similar to the Christian Abolitionists 200 years ago who refused sugar in their tea because of the enslavement of cane field workers?
the golden age of american consumerism
by Michael Bierut
Between product placement, ads in urinals, and Minute Maid Park, the invasion of commercialism into everyday life seems like a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Yet around one hundred years ago, America began a romance with salesmanship that today seems almost delirious.
by Michael Bierut
Between product placement, ads in urinals, and Minute Maid Park, the invasion of commercialism into everyday life seems like a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Yet around one hundred years ago, America began a romance with salesmanship that today seems almost delirious.
the twin perils of church marketing
by Christopher Barnett
The balance of power favors the marketer. But here it is won through a skillful manipulation of the consumer’s psyche. Any sense of responsibility, any sense of humaneness, is buried under the desire to maximize profits.
by Christopher Barnett
The balance of power favors the marketer. But here it is won through a skillful manipulation of the consumer’s psyche. Any sense of responsibility, any sense of humaneness, is buried under the desire to maximize profits.
giants & business parks
by Zach Kincaid
Looming over their creators, these sky-scraping beasts with their thousand glass eyes demand homage. Why do these industrial goliaths stand? Who holds David’s five smooth stones? Where lies a Babel resolution?
by Zach Kincaid
Looming over their creators, these sky-scraping beasts with their thousand glass eyes demand homage. Why do these industrial goliaths stand? Who holds David’s five smooth stones? Where lies a Babel resolution?
i don’t believe in christmas
by Andrew Lazo
I don't believe in Christmas this American disease, this chance to flaunt our less-than-seemly sides (and they are Legion). I think all other seasons that I like a jangling sound like bells, for ringing can be good, but what lurches me awake and jars is now just noise...
by Andrew Lazo
I don't believe in Christmas this American disease, this chance to flaunt our less-than-seemly sides (and they are Legion). I think all other seasons that I like a jangling sound like bells, for ringing can be good, but what lurches me awake and jars is now just noise...
not for sale
An MHP Interview with David Batstone
Ever wonder where the “pro bono” lurks in Bono’s messages about Africa? From Product Red ... that promotes indulging in and indulgences for the cause to the cost-nothing signatures harvested at overpriced concerts fueling the One celeb show, there is little demand to sacrifice because of personal ethics and activism.
An MHP Interview with David Batstone
Ever wonder where the “pro bono” lurks in Bono’s messages about Africa? From Product Red ... that promotes indulging in and indulgences for the cause to the cost-nothing signatures harvested at overpriced concerts fueling the One celeb show, there is little demand to sacrifice because of personal ethics and activism.
SEPT/OCT 
AUGUST 
JULY 
What Would Jesus Buy? is a delightfully subversive film – delightful because the message is told with humor and a light touch, subversive because, in an economy built around consumption rather than production, its message has the potential to disrupt the economy and bring about important and meaningful change. At the very least, this film invites us to consider again the ancient religious virtue of asceticism.
- Randall Balmer, Professor of American Religious History at Barnard College, Columbia University
NOVEMBER 
