In 1888, Edward Bellamy published a novel called Looking Backward. As a novel it is not great. But it was popular at the time, and I have had fun teaching it over the years. It's been a few years, but a named Julian West falls asleep in 1888, and wakes up in the year 2000, to discover that the strife and discord of the late 19th century has given way to a socialist utopia. The majority of the novel is Julian's host, Dr. Leete, explaining how various things like jobs and money work, as Julian asks various incredulous questions. It's a bit of a lot, and and it's also a weirdly neoliberal socialist utopia, as the magic of the market is what makes everything run smoothly.
There are two moments that stick with me. First, Julian and Dr. Leete are out for a walk, and it starts raining. Immediately, an awning unfurls over the sidewalk. Julian is incredulous, but Dr. Leete explains that this way is much more efficient than everyone carrying umbrellas. Dr. Leete's finishing move here is to mention a famous painting of umbrellas in the rain from Julian's time, and to explain that in 2000, the painting reads as an allegory of the selfish individualism of the late 19th century.
The other moment is the first time Dr. Leete takes Julian and the family to one of the neighborhood refectories. Dr. Leete explains that it is more efficient and pleasanter to enjoy meals that are centrally prepared and communally served than for each household to have to contend with cooking and cleaning meals for itself.
Like many of the expedients in Bellamy's novel, it is possible to think of objections. At the same time, he has a point. In our house, I am the one who cooks. Sometimes, I get sick of cooking. But except for pizza, and occasionally Chinese, I am not interested in takeout. I seem to be a holdout in this regard, in that DoorDash, UberEats etc seem to be one of those things that we got during the pandemic and is never going away. I am not a chef, but I do care about the food I cook. I can think of many things I cook that I would not want anyone to eat after 20 minutes in someone's car. A grilled cheese with five miles on the odometer is a hate crime, for instance. Chef can tweeze the microgreens all he wants, but after a spin in somebody's RAV4, it's not gonna matter. But it seems that many diners expect the restaurants they frequent to make their menu available to go.
From a food standpoint, all of this is bad. The economics are bad for workers, and bad for restaurants. More broadly, it also seems like a move toward an umbrella model, and away from an awning model. DoorDash, etc, mean more time by ourselves, and less time interacting with people. That seems bad.
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