Substances and Society

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Nidhi here:

Tastes of Paradise  by Wolfgang Schivelbusch analyzes the history of various pleasurable and desirable items during the ages. The conflict paradigm is explored and the author studies the different dimensions of power that made certain substances pleasurable. In the book, classes influenced society and the types of substances that were acceptable. Gender determined which individuals were permitted to use specific substances like coffee and even cigarettes. The author also focuses on the Protestant Ethic, especially when dealing with coffee.

Prior to coffee, beer was the main source of nourishment. During the Reformation, new attitudes towards beer became prevalent and many felt that alcohol was something that would lead people down the wrong path. On the other hand, coffee was antierotic and was good for celibacy.

Women were excluded from coffeehouses, and the middle-class bourgeoisie met in coffeehouses to discuss intellectual thought. Newspaper circulation became more frequent as more men gathered in coffeehouses.  Coffee also provided people with better work ethic. Schivelbusch states, “The result was a body which functioned in accord with the new demands--- a rationalistic, middle-class, forward-looking body.”

Coffee had a central role in the Protestant Ethic, mainly because people started accepting the attitude that work is the main purpose in life. Coffee encouraged people to be sober and to focus on work.

The aristocrats deemed coffee to be fashionable in Europe by the 1700s (19).  The wealthy wanted the rest of the population to realize that coffee was a drink of elegance and the way it was consumed should be carefully noted. Despite coffee’s popularity, it was still a luxury that was excluded to the upper strata of society.