>No, the dowry wouldn't be the classic example because that's more akin to prostitution or slave trade than monetizing and marketing affection. Tossing aside s

>No, the dowry wouldn't be the classic example because that's more akin to prostitution or slave trade than monetizing and marketing affection. Tossing aside slavery, it's akin to prostitution because it's very similar. But prostitution is also a classic example of the commoditization of affection/sex. >This especially considering a lot of marriages were done out of convenience and need rather than out of love. Well yes, that's what commoditization does. It turns something into a marketable commodity. That people bargained over dowries/marriage like they do over other goods is exactly the point. I think what you and many of us feel is that there is some intrinsic quality to our affection that is degraded when it's turned into a commodity and I'm using that to suggest that there is something similarly degrading about turning our attention into a commodity, to be bought and sold and exploited for profit whenever possible. I do like the example of Christmas, you could draw a parallel between the message of a Charlie Brown Christmas and the message of a Target Christmas commercial that would prove a similar point. >I think your comparison with gambling was more appropriate, or one to video games / TV like the in the comment you replied to. You're right, cigarettes are an overblown comparison. I was just hunting for something which is pushed on children, fortunately gambling isn't usually. (maybe csgo lotteries are something are an exception here which would be a good example)