Saved by Danielle Vermeer
The new, subtle ways the rich signal their wealth
The purpose of flex commerce is to establish one’s status as distinct and superior to others. Unlike other forms of commerce, it’s unrelated to the cost of goods and services, but to their intangible, symbolic value. In flex commerce, price is secondary. Primary are the cultural, social and environmental capital that a good or service carries.
Ana Andjelic • The flex commerce era 💪
While their symbolic position sometimes manifests itself through material goods, mostly they reveal their class position through cultural signifiers that convey their acquisition of knowledge and value system—dinner
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett • The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class
The 1% go to different doctors, eat at different restaurants, shop at different stores. Wealth used to be a better seat. Now it’s an upgrade to a better life.
Scott Galloway • The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Success
Today’s aspirational class prizes ideas, cultural and social awareness, and the acquisition of knowledge in forming ideas and making choices ranging from their careers to the type of sliced bread they purchase at the grocery store.
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett • The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class
After a certain point, the only people still playing the conspicuous consumption game will be those for whom it is still a useful signal—lower socioeconomic groups, people in developing countries—and those who don't have other dimensions on which they're able to compete. In other words, it will quite literally be a poor man's game.