I was wondering if anyone has any Marxist literature related to this topic, if it exists at all. Talking about “treats” is very much a part of the site’s culture, so I’m wondering if this part of hexbear has any grounding in the Marxist understanding of the world in the 21st century.
This is not a shitpost, I’m genuinely curious. Thanks! 
Honestly it’s just a modern take on the “bread & circus” concept that goes back to city-states of the ancient world. It’s not unique to the US and is even something socialist governments must account for, but with the US it sure seems like an entire cultural identity has been built around consumption of treats. Just look at what happened in the US when COVID caused mass media entertainment (television, movies, novels) to be delayed indefinitely along with restaurants, bars, and themeparks closing down.
Other than treats citizens of the US often have nothing, living lives that can be quite hollow. Atomization. Freedom where to others they owe nothing and are owed nothing. No community, protestant religion centered around the individual, family is extremely shallow due to being limited to the so-called nuclear family that often abandons relationships when children turn 18, and suburban living where people often don’t even know their immediate neighbors.
Yeah that seems right. Most countries have some level of commodity fetishization, but Amerikkka elevates it to the level of core national identity.
So much so that it invades the political discourse a lot. The nonsense “culture war” focuses heavily on treats most of the time.
We went from “women in the priesthood” as a cultural battleground to “women in my shitty live action service looter-shooter vidya”
With the hyper individualistic and anti social culture of the US, what else is there to define your identity if not your consumption of commodities? If you’re lucky you might have some immediate family and maybe a hobby or a job you don’t loathe, but people are increasingly getting priced out of even those.
Good post comrade