Luxury and History

                In Tastes of Paradise, author Wolfgang Schivelbusch does a masterful job of showing the impact of foreign luxury goods on Western society and how they have influenced the development of the modern world.  His arguments, which focus on the consumption and cultural meanings applied to products such as pepper and coffee, present a new lens for readers to view the history of world trade, colonialism, and the “acceleration” of life in the capitalist age.  Using writings and depictions of the products by literary figures and artists of the time periods he discusses, he demonstrates the way in which products of non-European origin infiltrated the continent, and how they were viewed by those who used them.   

                By providing both the pros and cons of each product and a history of their consumers, I believe his arguments were well structured and very convincing.  While it may be a stretch to say that the discovery of the New World was based solely on the desire for more pepper, it is practical to look at the development of social institutions such as coffeehouses and taverns and connect them to the innovative spirit that led to modern capitalism and the theme of solidarity attached to the working classes.  In addition, comparing and contrasting the meanings given to products by different class levels is a great way to understand the contradictory feelings towards progress and modernity that those classes hold.

                After reading this book, I am quite convinced that our class definition of “commodity history” should be up for debate.  From what we have read so far it seems that the goal of the texts is to present history from a different viewpoint, one that shows how commodities and products have influenced the course of history, whether in significant or in minor ways.  For example, while coffee may not be the sole reason for changes in middle class rationale, employment, social life, and the development of capitalism in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, it did have a major effect on the sobriety of those people.  This newfound sobriety, in turn, led the way to more clear and intelligent communication, aided the development of the modern economic structure, and helped to usher in a new era of thinking and understanding in a society that had been guzzling alcohol and beer soup day in and day out.  Therefore, maybe the commodity cannot simply be left as the main focus of any study.  Discussions of production and consumption are limited (not to mention rather boring).  If the commodity is not connected to a larger meaning and historical change, is there a point to discussing it at all?