Revised Starbucks Precis

Paula Mathieu’s primary point in her essay Economic Citizenship and the Rhetoric of Gourmet Coffee is to show how rhetoric can be used to develop economic citizenship. She does this by using the example of Starbucks restaurant. She analyzes the various ways Starbucks induces scotosis to create a group of consumers. She then supports her view by examining how Starbucks uses a unique décor to stimulate scotosis, by explaining how the numerous Starbucks menu choices provokes a false sense of individuality for the consumer, and by evaluating how Starbuck’s incorporation of medical, scientific, and sensual terms in its language generate scotosis by limiting the consumer’s view of Starbucks as a whole. Her purpose for writing this essay is to show how rhetoric can be used to develop economic citizenship and to warn of scotosis and how its effects can blind people from the world around them. Her essay essentially speaks to consumers about scotosis and makes them more aware of how it is used to limit their view of the world around them.