Aluminum-free, paraben-free, no added sugar… In a world where absence is valued, Mazarine Pingeot questions the implications of this new marketing, born in response to years of excess.
Where does this inflation of “without” in our daily life come from? Aluminum-free, paraben-free, no added sugar, nitrite-free, alcohol-free… The word has crept into all departments, from supermarkets to small grocery stores and into our consumption. We sprinkle it everywhere, write it in big letters on the packaging. Based on this empirical observation, the writer Mazarin Pinjo had the idea to question philosophical expectations in his work; Live without. Philosophy of Absence (Editions Flammarion/Climats.)
“What’s fun is converting this lack of ingredients into value. Analytical questioning begins from here. How did the lack become more, the absence become complete?” asks the philosopher. We have to put ourselves in the context of the last twenty years of runaway capitalism and consumerism. This “no” marketing comes in response to excess (colorants, stabilizers, etc.).
Source: Le Figaro
