Word: utilitarians
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...book One World, utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer presents an interesting analogy for America’s current position: imagine you are walking by a shallow pond and you see child fall through the ice. She is sure to drown if you don’t save her, but if you do it will mean dirtying your pants, ruining your shoes, and being late to an important meeting. Most readers will agree that it would be very wrong to ignore the drowning child...
...perhaps the most salient example of designer permeation of the most utilitarian products is the O-CEL-O hourglass-shaped sponge by 3M. Sales tripled in 1999, after the company eschewed square for curvaceous and added brightly colored patterns. Now 3M is putting concept-driven designs on its sponges. "Washing dishes is not something that's pleasurable, so putting a little bit of design into it is good," says Zaki Kamandy, a second-year student at New York City's Parsons School of Design, whose stylized spoons-knives-forks-and-bubbles print--inspired by the gaggle that always gets washed...
...boomers who can afford a two-seater now that their kids have grown up. Though sports-car sales account for just 1% of total vehicle spending, automakers view the eye-catching cars as a vital way to give a gleam to their brands, enhancing the image of an otherwise utilitarian fleet and luring shoppers into showrooms. Done right, two-seaters make money too. Outfitted with luxury fixings, they often yield hefty profit margins...
...Utilitarian philosopher and Princeton Professor Peter Singer offers a conservative estimate that by donating $200 to a charity that fights starvation and disease in sub-Saharan Africa, you can save one human life by saving a child from an early death. The U.N. estimates that 70 million people will die of the AIDS in the next 20 years alone. At present, the disease turns another child into an orphan every 14 seconds. We cannot put African AIDS patients ahead of our family members when we decide how to spend money. However, we can give up trivial possessions and unnecessary indulgences...
...preacher clearly enjoys the toys he can now afford?the publishing business alone brings in $130,000 a month, aides say?Aa Gym insists that his flying lessons, the $2,000 DVD player installed in one of his cars and, yes, even the glistening Kawasaki Eliminator are simply utilitarian. "I have enough money to buy anything I want, that Lexus for example," he says, pointing to a black model with smoked-glass windows. "But I don't. The van is more practical. All my technology is state of the art because I need to be efficient. I don't indulge...