How 'McMindfulness' Manipulates Us into Coping Instead of Protesting

From the apps on our phones to the magazines at our grocery stores, we’re inundated with tips on using “mindfulness” to reduce stress. But San Francisco State professor Ronald Purser argues that the mindfulness advertised is more like “McMindfulness”: well-packaged, individualized complacency that preserves the status quo. Instead of linking our unhappiness to larger social structures, we identify it as self-imposed — and are told to learn how to cope. To accomplish true, revolutionary mindfulness and return to its Buddhist roots, Purser argues, we must look beyond ourselves as individuals. We’ll talk with Purser about his new book, “McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality.”