Reflections on Nappies and Captain Samuel Vimes' theory of socioeconomic unfairness

I wrote this two years ago, before the start of the pandemic and when working from home felt more like a treat rather than just the way we do things to adapt.

(29 November, 2019) I am in a privileged position to leave my work commitments, get into my car, drive 25 minutes to the Mama Magic baby expo to stock up on a premium nappy brand, saving considerably by buying bulk. Time, reliable transportation, work concession and disposable income all play a role in ensuring my baby has a lower cost per poo (for you digital marketing folks).

The Spar near my house sells a 5 pack of cheaper nappies at a much higher price, presumably for those who don't have 600 rand lying around to buy 2 giga packs.

Reminds me of this excerpt from Terry Pratchett.

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness."

Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms: The Play