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I don't think that was a joke. The banality of evil is about how evil actions may have mundane motivations, particularly professional promotion and profit, rat

I don't think that was a joke. The banality of evil is about how evil actions may have mundane motivations, particularly professional promotion and profit, rather than ideological motivations. IBM's contribution to the holocaust exemplifies this. Presumably you object to observations about human behavior made in the context of the Holocaust being applied to any circumstance less severe than the Holocaust. I don't think that makes much sense. Attributing Coco Cola's promotion of poisonous beverages to the banality of evil is not equivocating the harm of Coca Cola to the harm of the Holocaust. If such an equivocation were made, that would of course be objectionable.

slg 5y ago
The "evil" referred to in Arendt's original usage is being one of the architects of The Holocaust. The "evil" being described here is trying to sell a few extra units of sugar water. The analogy would be no more appropriate if the "evil" was trying to sell a few extra servers regardless of what IBM did in the 1930s and 1940s. It is not that simply selling soda is "less severe than the Holocaust", it is that it isn't even in the same realm. The analogy is drawing comparisons between one of the banalities of living in a capitalistic society with one of the worst atrocities that humans have ever committed. At a certain point it isn't even about offending anyone. An analogy that strained is just straight up a bad analogy.
- slipframe 5y ago
  The banality of evil is not limited to extreme evil. Nevertheless, Coca Cola's product certainly has a body count. Refined sugar is poisonous in the first place, certainly in the quantities Coca Cola sells it in, and Coca Cola also adds caffeine to make their product even more addictive. And why does Coca Cola want to associate their product with athleticism so badly? Because their product has developed a well earned reputation for being unhealthy, and they want to whitewash that reputation. They want to use athletes particularly because athletes are often role models for people in the domains of fitness and nutrition. There is evil to be found in Coca Cola's business model, and therefore, it is appropriate to invoke the banality of evil to explain it.
- solnyshok 5y ago
  when you count people dying from overweight related problems, selling sugary water stops looking innocent

slg 5y ago

The "evil" referred to in Arendt's original usage is being one of the architects of The Holocaust. The "evil" being described here is trying to sell a few extra units of sugar water. The analogy would be no more appropriate if the "evil" was trying to sell a few extra servers regardless of what IBM did in the 1930s and 1940s. It is not that simply selling soda is "less severe than the Holocaust", it is that it isn't even in the same realm. The analogy is drawing comparisons between one of the banalities of living in a capitalistic society with one of the worst atrocities that humans have ever committed. At a certain point it isn't even about offending anyone. An analogy that strained is just straight up a bad analogy.

slipframe 5y ago
The banality of evil is not limited to extreme evil. Nevertheless, Coca Cola's product certainly has a body count. Refined sugar is poisonous in the first place, certainly in the quantities Coca Cola sells it in, and Coca Cola also adds caffeine to make their product even more addictive. And why does Coca Cola want to associate their product with athleticism so badly? Because their product has developed a well earned reputation for being unhealthy, and they want to whitewash that reputation. They want to use athletes particularly because athletes are often role models for people in the domains of fitness and nutrition. There is evil to be found in Coca Cola's business model, and therefore, it is appropriate to invoke the banality of evil to explain it.
solnyshok 5y ago
when you count people dying from overweight related problems, selling sugary water stops looking innocent