"It's your Pillow, and a Pet. It's a Pillow Pet."No, I'm not kidding. It's a big hit among the elementary school set. I only wish I'd thought of it. . . I'd be a lot closer to a beach house someplace warm.But what does it say about our capitalist system that it produces iPhones (marvelous models of technological innovation) and pillow pets, which fall into the category of singing fish, pet rocks, and chia pets? And come to think of it, why are all these things "pets," anyway?

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

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