status symbols and luxury goods 37
ing the stratification of the international system more easily. This process
requires at least a rudimentary level of intragroup communication and
some consensus regarding values and norms. When an index is used with
regularity as a means of establishing actors’ relative position in a hierarchy,
it becomes a status symbol (Goffman 1951 , 295 ; see also Dittmar 1992 ).
Hence, a status symbol is in fact a ritualization of specific patterns of con
sumption and behavior into institutionalized signals that assist actors in
establishing effective comparison processes (Zahavi and Zahavi 1997 , 67 ).
In this way, the conceptualization of the term symbol in this chapter is
largely interchangeable with signal. Status symbols, therefore, facilitate in
tragroup communication by operating as vehicles for signaling one’s posi
tion in a given society.
The Evolution and Diffusion of Status Symbols
Status symbols are not selected randomly. Indeed, most patterns of con
sumption cannot become recognized status symbols overnight. For a good
to be chosen as a status symbol, it needs to be understood as such by both
the signaler and the target or audience (O’Neill 1999 , 241 ). A novel signal
is ineffectual if it fails to establish the desired communication with the tar
get. Therefore, the evolution of new signals, in this case the evolution of
new status symbols, requires coevolution of both the signaling actor and
her audience (Zahavi and Zahavi 1997 , 67 ). Hence, when trying to estab
lish effective communication through the use of new signals, actors usually
have to rely on preexisting norms and values. By selecting signals from
an established and mutually recognized menu of indicators, the signal
ers maximize the chance that the meaning of their signal will be properly
understood by the desired audience. Therefore, we can expect signals to
surface at first as an extension and later as an exaggeration of preexisting
patterns of consumption behavior.
Navies, for example, were not originally procured as a status symbol.
Countries built navies because of their primary utility as strategic tools
of power projection. This initial stage occurred naturally because of the
intrinsic utility of naval power. These qualities, in turn, made naval power
a widely recognized index of national power. Almost all great powers had
great navies, and any actor wishing to match those great powers had to ac
quire similar naval capabilities. Because this strong correlation between
great power status and naval capabilities was well recognized, an actor
