Virginia Postrel, Columnist

Don't Let Politics Invade Your Closet or Refrigerator

Pluralism is at risk as we embrace an economy of red brands and blue brands, with no common ground.

February 23, 2017 at 2:30 PM UTC

Virginia Postrel is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She is a visiting fellow at the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University and author, most recently, of “The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World.”

Shop 'til divisiveness drop.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

After 20 years, the big Outdoor Retailer trade show is leaving Salt Lake City -- not because it ran out of space or got a better deal elsewhere but because Utah lawmakers opposed an expansion of the industry’s biggest federal subsidy.

To most Americans, national parks and monuments are places to enjoy the outdoors while preserving natural and historical treasures. To the Outdoor Industry Association, they’re also a business necessity. It calls public lands “the backbone of the industry’s sales.”