In her classic work “No Logo,” which analyzes the history of advertising, Naomi Klein informs us that Nike does not make shoes; the Gap does not make clothes; Coca-Cola does not make soda; Toyota does not make cars. This is shocking to hear and counterintuitive, but in the case of Nike and Gap, technically true of course: they outsourced production to subcontractors in Asia decades ago — and countless others followed their lead. Klein’s larger point, however, is that these corporations have dematerialized. The stuff they sell — clothes and Coke and cars — is secondary, arguably an afterthought. Instead, Klein explains, corporations are invested in a spiritual endeavor: they don’t make things, but brands.
Nike is focused on how it makes people feel — about themselves — and the kind of person they want to represent or communicate to others. This is the “brand,”’ the attitude Nike offers: “Just do it!” is their famous motto. Nike doesn’t sell mere shoes; that’s too modest and mundane — it’s beneath them and us. We can get functional shoes anywhere. Rather, Nike sells affirmation, courage, boldness. “Have a Coke and a smile,” we’re also told. This is more than soda — it’s camaraderie, friendliness, openness. That’s what we really want, what we truly crave.
The British economist John Maynard Keynes pointed out a century ago that the “economic problem” of humankind had been solved; by which he meant our basic, material needs had been met, for the most part. In 21st-century capitalist America, our spiritual needs proliferate. Scholars note the rapid advance of secularization, which, in the U.S., some have dubbed “dechurching.” American society is thoroughly materialistic and individualistic. Erstwhile communities, religious or otherwise, have dwindled or vanished, and we crave the support they once provided. Therapists observe a rising epidemic of loneliness and isolation. In this digital economy, people can get whatever they want, whenever they want it, and we have become ravenous consumers, the likes of which history has never seen. Indeed, the mania of our consumption indicates we are so very desperate for fulfillment, driven on by inner emptiness.
Gun manufacturers have noticed, too. They are heavily invested in catering to our spiritual, emotional, intangible needs. As a result, they principally market virtues — not mere tools. I will focus on three such virtues: security, autonomy, and liberty. In the case of each, however, guns fail to deliver and, in fact, provide the opposite of what people seek when they reach for a firearm.
Start with self-defense, the most common reason people say they buy a gun. Public health researchers have long noted that, in households with a gun, residents are more likely to be harmed or killed by a gun — not less. It does not make them safer from gun violence, but more likely to experience it. Guns in a home may be used in escalating incidents of domestic violence, for example. They may be discharged by children who discover them. They may be used in suicide. They may also be stolen, and indeed, there is a surge in stolen guns: As more people have guns, more are stolen and end up in the hands of criminals — precisely what people arm for in the first place.
On that note, it’s worth mentioning how it is unwise — foolish and reckless — to draw a firearm on a criminal in America, since there is an excellent chance they are armed, and armed well, and they may have less compunction or restraint. It’s utter nonsense when gun owners brag that their weapons deter crime and criminals. On the contrary, if they display their weapon, they merely advertise what is required to subdue them — which is in abundant supply. Drawing a weapon, furthermore, is an invitation to escalate conflicts, needlessly and fatally. Guns do not enhance our autonomy, therefore. They do not give us greater control over ourselves or a situation. Rather, they deliver us to forces and events that are beyond our control.
As for “liberty,” guns fail in that regard, too — spectacularly. As the nation’s arsenal balloons, gun laws become more permissive, and as the number of mass shootings spirals, people do not report feeling safer and freer to circulate in public, but less. Many report that they are frightened of public settings and are more inclined to stay home. This certainly does not sound like liberty. As I have argued elsewhere, the Second Amendment is being expanded so radically that it endangers the First Amendment, which enshrines freedom of speech and assembly. When guns appear in public — when armed individuals walk freely and join in protests or demonstrations — their weapons speak, their weapons issue a threat, their weapons chill speech. Will you be inclined to speak your mind, perhaps angrily or vociferously, when surrounded by men with assault rifles? Will you be inclined to take part in divisive, disruptive, and boisterous marches when armed men infiltrate your ranks and, as we saw during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, actually fire on protestors? All our guns are busy destroying public life in America — quite the opposite of freedom.
There is one further proclamation of “freedom’-loving gun owners: that civilian arms — including assault rifles — will ward off a tyrannical government, as suggested in the Second Amendment. Well, in 2024, we have elected the most overtly authoritarian president in decades, perhaps ever, who cozies up to murderous dictators and openly degrades the rule of law. This as the nation’s arsenal balloons — the civilian arms that are supposed to prevent tyranny. Among President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are gun-rights advocates. They may have delivered us to tyranny’s doorstep.
This all suits gun manufacturers fine, of course. They cannot tolerate a world where our fears are soothed, our emotional vulnerabilities sated. They benefit when our terrors are quite nearly apocalyptic. Like today, when our gun-buying spree is bipartisan, and liberals arm up for the chaos of Trump’s America. My only question is: How long will this tense standoff last, between America’s many millions of gun owners, terrified, traumatized, and armed to the teeth?
