While the entire world has been focused on the economic fallout of the corona-virus Pandemic, two other much older viruses have been lurking in the shadows for quite some time. Since these two viruses are non-biological in nature. they are vaccine-proof. One of them is marketplace-based, the other, mindbased. While the origin of the coronavirus may or may not be traced back to Wuhan in China, the two older viruses originated in the US. Silicon Valley has had a huge role to play in propagating and prolonging these two viruses.
The three seemingly disparate viruses are actually linked in major ways when viewed from the twin perspectives of cultural anthropology and economics.
The marketplace-based virus has to do with 'conspicuous consumption'. a term coined by American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book- The Theory of the Leisure Class. Conspicuous consumption is a catch-all phrase that best describes the practice of acquiring goods of quality and quantity far in excess of one's needs - an acquisition process facilitated these days by ecommerce giants such as Amazon. While conspicuous consumption is typically associated with affluent countries in the West. it is catching on fast in India, much to the delight of delusional politicians and IT companies. I find this quite curious since India does not meet the definition of an affluent society, viz., a production-oriented society where the basic needs - food. clothing and shelter - of its citizenry have been met.
The mind-based virus is centred on 'meme. a term coined by Richard Dawkins. British evolutionary biologist and author of the 1976 best seller. The Selfish Gene. Memes are units of information that propagate in the meme-pool (akin to the gene pool) by leaping from brain to brain.
The market-place pandemic is
A. Biological
B. Non-biological
C. Vaccine proof
D. Mind-based
Choose the correct option:
