‘...you will see huge posters advertising Whole Foods, of course, but — more precisely — advertising how virtuous Whole Foods is. A big sign in the window shows a mother with a little child on her shoulders (aaaah!) and declares: ‘values matter.’'
'The poster goes on to assert: ‘We are part of a growing consciousness that is bigger than food — one that champions what’s good.’ This a particularly blatant example of the increasingly common phenomenon of what might be called ‘virtue signalling’ — indicating that you are kind, decent and virtuous.’
'‘I hate 4x4s!’ you declare. This is an assertion that, unlike others, you care about the environment.'
[Saying you hate things…] 'It is camouflage. The emphasis on hate distracts from the fact you are really saying how good you are.'
'If you were frank … your vanity and self-aggrandisement would be obvious.’
'No one actually has to do anything. Virtue comes from mere words or even from silently held beliefs.'
'Mild forms of virtue bidding wars have entered daily life. People now sometimes say to each other, ‘Have a great evening!’ These people are effortlessly showing themselves more generous and warm-hearted than those who only wish us a ‘good’ evening. I recently got an email wishing me a ‘fantastic’ evening. What next? ‘Ecstatic’? ‘Orgasmic’?’
'But the widespread way in which people now proudly boast suggests there is no shame, no reflection.’
‘No shame’ - lack of responsibility to society or self.
'And because of this lack of awareness, it is more common.’
'The poster goes on to assert: ‘We are part of a growing consciousness that is bigger than food — one that champions what’s good.’ This a particularly blatant example of the increasingly common phenomenon of what might be called ‘virtue signalling’ — indicating that you are kind, decent and virtuous.’
- Link this to Callaghan’s illustration and her reference to Whole Foods.
'‘I hate 4x4s!’ you declare. This is an assertion that, unlike others, you care about the environment.'
[Saying you hate things…] 'It is camouflage. The emphasis on hate distracts from the fact you are really saying how good you are.'
'If you were frank … your vanity and self-aggrandisement would be obvious.’
- People find way’s around openly saying how great they think they are by saying the right things. They don’t have to be doing the right things, as long as what they share verbally or online portrays them to be superior.
'No one actually has to do anything. Virtue comes from mere words or even from silently held beliefs.'
'Mild forms of virtue bidding wars have entered daily life. People now sometimes say to each other, ‘Have a great evening!’ These people are effortlessly showing themselves more generous and warm-hearted than those who only wish us a ‘good’ evening. I recently got an email wishing me a ‘fantastic’ evening. What next? ‘Ecstatic’? ‘Orgasmic’?’
- I feel at this point, the article becomes very petty, but Bartholomew does have a point that the kindness of people is not always genuine. It related back to the idea of self responsibility. Does this person really wish that he has a ‘great evening’ or does that make him feel better about himself that he has come across as ‘generous and warm-hearted’. It is a cynical approach but when this concept is scaled up to the size of advertising campaigns, we can see the greater effect that it has.
'But the widespread way in which people now proudly boast suggests there is no shame, no reflection.’
‘No shame’ - lack of responsibility to society or self.
'And because of this lack of awareness, it is more common.’
- People don’t realise the cycle of what is happening here. People who are virtue signalling make others feel inadequate, these people then take on the same role of signalling to others and it extends to the point where it is a competition of who has the best morals, who is the better person, who is the most virtuous.
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