We often conceive of coffee’s evolution in “waves,” a convention first used by Trish Rothgeb and borrowed from the feminist movement. But does feminism have more to teach the coffee industry than that
Considering how thoroughly some companies and the industry at large engages in green- pink- and rainbow-washing as a marketing tactic rather than true internal policy and ethos (looking at you B corps and 'internal sustainability mechanisms') coffee and neoliberalism have been bosom buddies for awhile. After all, the reactionary behavior of the very recent past regarding shipping 'security risks', the global container shortage during COVID, and rising anxieties about tariffs affecting green are a highlight of the neoliberal mindset - "I want a free market and I'd like to ignore the conditions impacting my free market desires."
Looking at the snippet on the political aspects of neoliberalism as defined on Wikipedia:
"Neoliberal theory contends that free markets encourage economic efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation. State intervention, even if aimed at encouraging these phenomena, is generally believed to worsen economic performance."
Coffees consumption and importation is a highly stratified ordeal that is predicated on efficiency stateside, as many Westerners believe in coffee as a right, but also as a potential pet project of growth with enough investment ("it can't be that hard to run a cafe"). State intervention is absolutely anathema to the industry, look at the way proprietors macro and micro respond when they are asked to simply supply safe working conditions or comply with the NLRB or OSHA.
The derogatory left wing characterization of hard-line Democratic Party supporters/neolibs seems apt here. A particular strain of busybodies that view voting and shaming others into 'palatable' political activities has more to do wishing to return to ' brunch' aka status quo than actual progress. Living under the illusion that every four years we don't merely reset the teeth on the Ratchet Effect is a distinctly neoliberal fantasy, but one that will grow increasingly physically violent in response to the economic violence it's wrought on itself and the global south - all because the coffee needed to keep flowing.
Considering how thoroughly some companies and the industry at large engages in green- pink- and rainbow-washing as a marketing tactic rather than true internal policy and ethos (looking at you B corps and 'internal sustainability mechanisms') coffee and neoliberalism have been bosom buddies for awhile. After all, the reactionary behavior of the very recent past regarding shipping 'security risks', the global container shortage during COVID, and rising anxieties about tariffs affecting green are a highlight of the neoliberal mindset - "I want a free market and I'd like to ignore the conditions impacting my free market desires."
Looking at the snippet on the political aspects of neoliberalism as defined on Wikipedia:
"Neoliberal theory contends that free markets encourage economic efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation. State intervention, even if aimed at encouraging these phenomena, is generally believed to worsen economic performance."
Coffees consumption and importation is a highly stratified ordeal that is predicated on efficiency stateside, as many Westerners believe in coffee as a right, but also as a potential pet project of growth with enough investment ("it can't be that hard to run a cafe"). State intervention is absolutely anathema to the industry, look at the way proprietors macro and micro respond when they are asked to simply supply safe working conditions or comply with the NLRB or OSHA.
The derogatory left wing characterization of hard-line Democratic Party supporters/neolibs seems apt here. A particular strain of busybodies that view voting and shaming others into 'palatable' political activities has more to do wishing to return to ' brunch' aka status quo than actual progress. Living under the illusion that every four years we don't merely reset the teeth on the Ratchet Effect is a distinctly neoliberal fantasy, but one that will grow increasingly physically violent in response to the economic violence it's wrought on itself and the global south - all because the coffee needed to keep flowing.