♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Casino Capitalism
at 6/21/2007 12:02:00 AM
Marx used the term "commodity fetishism" in referring to the treatment of more and more aspects of human life as things to be bought and sold. Some Internet entrepreneurs who I accidentally found while searching for stuff to post about seem to have taken "commodity fetishism" to its logical online conclusion. The online dating service SeekingMillionaire claims to be "the largest dating website for rich and wealthy individuals, or beautiful girls and attractive guys," and that their service is "designed to meet the needs of wealthy men and women seeking relationships with young and attractive girls and guys, and vice versa." I swear, I did not make up this advert to the left featuring a self-described hottie extolling this service while wrapped in a bathing towel as her presumably wealthy mate holds a glass of champagne in a bubbly hot tub [!] It seems straight out of MAD Magazine, but no. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Besides, what kind of persons "work 7 days a week just to make ends meet"? Y'all know the answer to that...Further confirmation of what really counts in this purported playground for wealth and beauty is this statement: "Members may search profiles and add favorites. Attractive members may initiate contact with other Wealthy members. Wealthy members may initiate contact with all Attractive and Wealthy members" [their emphasis]. Offhand, I'm not putting this service down. I try to be open-minded and non-judgmental--cast the first stone, etc. Heck, I might put up my profile and end up being featured in one of these silly adverts as well:
SCENE: (I am seated on a leather sofa with an 85-year old grandmother, my "lover," whose right hand I am holding and who I am looking at with heartfelt longing.)
"I used to be a PhD student when I figured that I was way too sexy to be a mere schoolteacher. Through SeekingMillionaire, I was able to find the charming, goddess-like blue-haired woman of my wildest dreams who was also filthy, stinking rich because her arms dealer husband kicked the bucket. If you are sexy, why be a petty bourgeois academic when you can be a full-blown burgeois oppressor of the masses?"
