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Luxury Beliefs Are Status Symbols
But today, because material goods have become a noisier signal of one’s social position and economic resources, the affluent have decoupled social status from goods, and re-attached it to beliefs.
Rob Henderson • Luxury Beliefs Are Status Symbols
Those who want to win educated-class approval must confront the anxieties of abundance: how to show—not least to themselves—that even while climbing toward the top of the ladder they have not become all the things they still profess to hold in contempt. How to navigate the shoals between their affluence and their self-respect. How to reconcile thei
... See moreDavid Brooks • Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
Furthermore, it is harder for wealthy people to claim the mantle of victimhood, which, among the affluent, is often a key ingredient to be seen as a righteous person.
Rob Henderson • Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
A key idea is that because we can’t be certain of the financial standing of other people, a good way to size up their means is to see whether they can afford to waste money on goods and leisure.
Rob Henderson • Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
Someone who wastes time and money on expensive luxury goods and hobbies sends an unambiguous signal: I have the wealth to afford these pointless things. I am an elite. In such cases, even fundamental laws of supply and demand break down. The high price of a luxury product is the point. If it becomes cheaper, people will buy less of it.