Adjectives in the 21st Century

I love adjectives, I really do.

They give life and colour and context to those plain old nouns. For example “a remarkable idea” takes on a whole different colour to “an idea”.

But I find that I’m rebelling against the use of adjectives that describe how things should be done…
Social enterprise
Social marketing
Organic Coffee
Fair trade
Free-range eggs

Am I kidding myself that somehow we can aspire to a world where we don’t need to use those adjectives because the assumption would be that:

• all enterprise has a triple or quadruple bottom line;
• all coffee is organic;
• all trade is fair; and,
• eggs are laid the way nature intended?

And that we would only use adjectives in this context when it didn’t meet that expectation:
Corrupt enterprise
Corrupt marketing
Carcinogenic coffee
Oppressed trade
Imprisoned eggs

Of course I’m kidding myself, but it’s an interesting thought. What assumptions do we make about the nouns that we use every day and their inherent qualities?

Is it that nouns by themselves often describe mediocrity?

Generally we are charged a premium for products and services that should be done that way in the first place. So, is the market expectation that we’re getting a second-rate or exploitative product unless we’re told otherwise?

I saw a sign on a truck recently that said, “we turn up when we say we will”… that’s a selling point? Shouldn’t that be the expectation? They said they would arrive at 10am and they did! Remarkable…

Let’s start a movement that delivers products and services the way they should be, without adjectives, and see if market expectation shifts.

At the very least you’ll be guaranteed loyal customers.

Now there’s a good adjective.