a contest of beneficence 119
help are one and the same. Actors’ prosocial investment is compensated
through increased prestige and improved rank. Prosociality requires ex-
cess, and conspicuous displays of excess guarantee prestige.
Prosociality offers an especially illuminating example of conspicuous
consumption. It touches on all four core components of the conspicuous
consumption theory: cost, conspicuousness, hierarchy, and cycles of pres-
tige symbols. In particular, international prosociality emphasizes the power
exchange that often occurs through acts of conspicuous consumption. In-
terestingly, of the three policy areas covered by this book (procurement,
prosociality, and science), prosociality, the most benevolent and peaceful
of the lot, seems to incorporate the most evident dimension of domina-
tion and subordination. The most intuitively noninstrumental, other- help-
oriented policy is also the most hierarchical.
My discussion in this chapter addressed ten empirical puzzles that are
difficult to explain through other models of prosociality. I combined a de-
tailed analytical discussion of prosociality in international relations with
diverse anecdotal evidence. I demonstrated that many contemporary stud-
ies of peacekeeping and foreign aid reach conclusions that are consistent
with the predictions of the conspicuous consumption model. The theory is
further supported by findings in economics, psychology, anthropology, and
even evolutionary biology. It is important to reemphasize that the conspicu-
ous consumption model does not seek to deny the validity of competing
explanations. The fact that actors may engage in prosocial acts in order
to further economic or geostrategic interests or to fulfill their “moral vi-
sion” does not negate the plausibility and significance of the role played by
prestige in triggering prosocial behavior. As in other types of consumption,
prosociality is likely to be motivated by both primary- and secondary- utility
considerations. In this sense, the conspicuous consumption theory does not
seek to replace alternative explanations but rather to add to them. Indeed,
the conspicuous consumption model does add to our ability to account for
significant patterns and nuances unique to prosociality. It is therefore a
valuable if not necessary complement to any theorizing on this topic.
Analyzing prosocial policies under one theoretical framework rather
than as disparate fields of study allows us to highlight similarities and in-
terconnections. Thus, for example, we can identify a connection between
stable commitment to foreign aid and a declining commitment to UN
peacekeeping among Nordic countries. While these policy choices seem
unrelated at first, they are both indicative of the underpinning logic of
international status symbols. These dynamics emphasize the significance
of the social aspect of this theory. The conspicuous consumption model
