status symbols and luxury goods 47
defense system such as the Aegis, even though the latter is more exclusive
and to a large extent more technologically sophisticated. Similarly, a Mars
space mission is more attractive than the routine maintenance of a space
telescope.
Emulation is another mechanism that attracts actors to specific pat
terns of consumption. Indexes that are characteristically correlated with
success and with membership in the higher strata of the international hi
erarchy often become obvious focal points for the institutionalization of
status symbols. In the military sphere, for example, this process leads to a
preference for symbols that emphasize technology and capital over man
power even in the face of mounting evidence that militaries that are built
around such symbols may not always enjoy strategic advantage (Barnett
and Wendt 1992 ; Lyall and Wilson 2009 ). Fordham and Asal ( 2007 ) ex
amine the connection between prestige and emulation patterns. They find
support for a “trickle down” pattern of emulation in the spread of democ
racy, women’s rights, and restrictions on political persecution.
Finally, Eyre and Suchman argue that actors find more symbolism in
indexes that are closely connected with qualities that are socially accepted
as the mainstays of the modern nation state. Therefore, indexes related
to a country’s technological achievements and military or economic power
are more attractive than those related to food production, merchant ma
rine, or religious piousness. This argument echoes the work of the Stan
ford School of sociological institutionalism. The Stanford School suggests
that both national and international structures are affected by a global cul
ture that tends to favor modernity, rationalism, and progress. The choice
of symbols reflects and reinforces the prevailing culture (Finnemore 1996 ;
Meyer 1997 ; Boli and Thomas 1997 ). Interestingly, in a study of market
ing, Vigneron and Johnson ( 1999 ) find that a perception of technological
superiority and extreme care in manufacturing is crucial for the creation
and maintenance of luxury brands. As the Stanford School predicts, these
aspects of modernity play an important role in determining luxury both
domestically and internationally.
Hence, the choice of status symbols is closely related to the set of values
and norms held by a community. While the struggle to attain prestige and
recognition is intrinsic to social interaction, the way in which this struggle
manifests itself, and the status symbols it produces, varies over time and
space (Langman 1998 , 199 – 200 ). This connection between a communi
ty’s value system, the social hierarchy that this value system reflects, and
the corresponding status symbols that help regulate this hierarchy both
