The Shopping Cart Theory of Morality
Morality refers to the different forms of proper conduct, based on one’s situation or view of the world. Morality varies by culture. Therefore, morality facilitates harmony within a society.
“Everyone Has a Theory about Shopping Carts”, by Christine Hauser of the New York Times, is centered upon the sheer goodness of an individual while altering the perspective of an everyday item. Simply put, will a person put away a shared object (The Shopping Cart) after they are done using it? Such a simple task allows you to see if people will do good when no one is there watching. Do people need an authority figure to make them do the right thing? In our Anthology, morality shows that harmonious function varies between cultures. In the article, it is explained that everyone has gone shopping at the grocery store and has experienced the annoyance of parking near an unattended cart. This gives the article both an emotional connection and validates the author’s ability to speak on the topic. In the end, it’s a task that takes perhaps 20 seconds of your time, doesn’t reward you, isn’t illegal for you to leave it outside of the cart corral, and only inconveniences you and others if not returned properly. The article also offers an alternative example with the Aldi stores quarter-for-cart method. Aldi requires a quarter for the use of their carts and only by returning the cart, is the quarter returned. Aldi stores, as an effect, don’t have the problem of abandoned carts due to the presence of authority being the quarter. The Shopping Cart Theory test allows one to see if someone is truly a reliable, well-functioning member of society by showing if they adhere to a responsibility that is not a social norm, but a societal duty.
Works Cited
Hauser, Christine. “Everyone Has a Theory about Shopping Carts.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 June 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/style/shopping-cart-parking-lot.html#:~:text=The%20theory%20posits%20that%20the,leave%20without%20returning%20their%20carts.