Re: design-centric business models

Deborah,

I'm pretty sure that "concerned shopper" was being sarcastic but I suspect that many others might agree un-ironically.  It's not unreasonable to find government intrusion into our lives more troublesome than non-govermental intrusion. (CBS News videotaping a political rally is one thing, the Feds doing it is another. A fashion magazine telling me that I'd be happier if I wore briefs instead of boxers is stupid, a state agency doing so would be weirdly Orwellian.)

When I go into a store, I'm quite aware that they are trying to sell me stuff. That's the reason they built the store. At least their agenda is clear. Government overtly regulating for the collective good (e.g., setting light bulb efficiency or toy safety standards) is one thing but I can understand someone being at very least a bit creeped out by government covertly manipulating individual decisions. And then you get into the fight about what we should be manipulated to do. I, for instance, am convinced that the low fat salad dressings that Karen Glanz is advocating stores push are really bad for you.


Gunnar
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Gunnar Swanson Design Office
1901 East 6th Street
Greenville NC 27858
USA

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On Jun 14, 2011, at 2:25 PM, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote:
> http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/06/13/pm-the-supermarket-solution/
> 
> For those of you outside the U.S. who might think such re-designs of 
> supermarket shelves and floor space make good sense, see the comment 
> at page bottom from a "Concerned Shopper" -- IMO, representative of 
> many folks in the U.S., on the political left & right, who actively 
> oppose behaviorist "nudges" coming from government etc., with the 
> do-gooder intent of saving us from ourselves.
> 
> This deep-seated suspicion of attempts to outlaw and/or suppress human 
> nature reverberates throughout the debate on healthcare reform in this 
> country (e.g., who should pay for treating the risk-taking smoker with 
> emphysema late in life?).


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