status symbols and luxury goods 43
constant inferiority these two powers experienced when comparing them
selves to other leading powers in their most immediate prestige space.
Similarly, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), who fill an
equivalent position in the contemporary international social hierarchy,
reappear habitually in current discussions of prestige driven policies and
thus play an important role in some of the empirical analysis presented
later in this volume. Actors are uncomfortable with a position of constant
inferiority: “So long as the comparison is distinctively unfavorable to him
self, the normal, average individual will live in chronic dissatisfaction with
his present lot” (Veblen [ 1899 ] 1979 , 31 ). Janos ( 2000 ) claims that the need
to block and ameliorate such “chronic dissatisfaction,” stemming from
insistent unfavorable comparison vis à vis the West, was a major motiva
tion behind many of the restrictive domestic and international policies of
the Soviet Union.^6 These types of unfavorable comparisons are even more
bothersome when the superior actor is close and visible. Actors tend to be
more sensitive to local rather than global comparisons (Frank 1985 a, 8 – 9 ).^7
We do not care much about an additional billion earned by Warren Buf
fett, but we can obsess over a raise of $ 50 received by one of our colleagues.
Similarly, research suggests that incidents of air rage were more frequent
on flights that included a first class cabin and even more so when passen
gers had to walk past first class in order to get to their crowded economy
seats (DeCelles and Norton 2016 ). In this example, a direct exposure to
local inequality in a contained space seems to trigger higher levels of vio
lence. Passengers on flights with no first class cabin are aware that such su
perior seats are available elsewhere. However, since the experience of this
unfavorable comparison is more remote and less visceral, it fails to prompt
high levels of status anxiety. In the context of international relations, lo
cal sensitivity is not limited to geographic proximity but extends as well to
neighboring positions in the international hierarchy. Hence, India is likely
to be very sensitive to Pakistani consumption but also to the consumption
patterns of other aspiring powers such as the geographically distant Brazil.
Individuals can alleviate this type of chronic dissatisfaction by opting
to associate with a prestige space that compares more favorably with their
capabilities (Frank 1985 a, 34 ). Unlike individuals, international actors are
unable to relocate, meet new friends, or move to another profession. Ko
rea’s history is defined by being stuck between three great powers, and it
would be hard for any Korean leader to ignore these powers as a point of
comparison. International actors still have some limited flexibility in the
framing of their identity and reference points: they can choose a regional
