McMindfulness by Ronald Purser

Summary

Wellness is a commodity — a source of economic value — which technically means that helping people truly attain wellness and beauty would hurt the economy (or, at least, those industries). But helping people chase it? That is good for business. Biohacking is just another way to mine natural resources for material gain. It is a violent habit that depletes people. Burnout is no different from global warming. If our wellness is not for us, if we are forced to cultivate it for productivity — to perform and profit, then what is the point? Is the human completely reduced to a worker? Just another cog in the system? The direct embodiment of industrialization?

“The commoditization of 'McMindfulness' has sought to make meditation more efficient, calculable, predictable, and controlled. But this has led to the opposite outcome, creating an uncontrollable consumer commodity that devalues mindfulness. Downloading an app as a digital detox is irrational. Mindful merchants don’t care. They seem to be proud of creating a global branded product, accessible to anyone, anywhere — like a Big Mac.”
Robert Purser

About the author

Ronald Purser is a Professor of Management at San Francisco State University. He has studied with numerous Zen teachers and Tibetan lamas, and is an ordained Dharma instructor in the Korean Zen Buddhist Taego order.

His work explores the impact of mindfulness practices in cultural movements and their application in Western, secular settings in regard to consumerism, individualism, and capitalism.

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