Monday, October 28, 2002

If Politics Were Food

Like many people who think about politics, I have grown impatient with the Left/Right distinction. It’s not just the obvious abuses to which media put these terms, as when reporters call hard-line Communist generals in China “conservatives.” It’s more than that; there’s something almost insane about attempting to use a one-dimensional spectrum to describe something as complex as political philosophy. It’s like trying to build a house using only chopsticks and a hammer. You can see this more clearly by trying to apply a left-right distinction to something much simpler, such as cooking.

Food Snobs

What's the difference between a culinary snob and souffle, asks Ben Dutton. One is puffed up and full of hot air, the other you can eat.

The beauty of capitalism is ensuring that prices are already falling for organic food as more producers get into the game. But food snobs have some more tricks up their sleeves. Keep a look out for the current raw food "revolution" sweeping America and sure to pop up on our shores soon. Perhaps the most ridiculous trend yet: raw foodies' idea of a good Sunday roast leaves out the meat and the roasting. Talk about killjoys.