The Sociology Book

217

Travel to foreign lands, learning

languages, and acquiring knowledge

about other cultures were powerful

status symbols for wealthy Europeans

in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Worse still, the privileged class
consistently impedes positive
social advancement through its
deliberate mismanagement of
industry and society generally.

Social recognition
Veblen’s concept of “conspicuous
consumption” is his most renowned
contribution to economic and
sociological theory. Framed by
the Darwinian notion that all life
represents an ongoing struggle
for resources in the pursuit of
advancement of the species (or
in the case of human societies,
the groups to which individuals
belong), Veblen argues that under
capitalism the majority of human
behavior is determined by
struggles for social recognition,
status, and power. This is most
evident in relation to patterns of
consumption and leisure.
Conspicuous consumption
refers to spending money on, and
consumption of, nonessential
luxury goods in order to display
to other members of society
one’s own economic and material
wealth. An example of this is the
modern business tycoon who buys
an expensive yacht so that he can
entertain friends and clients. It is
not the utility value of the yacht
(whether or not it is an effective
means of transport) that matters
to the tycoon; rather, its value is as
a highly conspicuous signifier of
the wealth at the tycoon’s disposal,
for which he will receive both
admiration and respect.

Leisure and waste
Closely bound to Veblen’s concept
of conspicuous consumption is
the notion of conspicuous leisure:
the vast amount of time that

members of the leisure class spend

in pursuit of activities that are

neither economically nor socially

productive. Very simply, leisure

implies an absence of work. For

members of this privileged class

who have sufficient distance from

economic necessity (the need to

work), the nonproductive use of

time can be used to further their

social prestige and class position.

Going on exotic foreign vacations

and learning about other countries

are classic examples of conspicuous

leisure, according to Veblen.

The inevitable consequence

of conspicuous leisure and

consumption is the production of

unnecessary waste. Conspicuous

waste, argues Veblen, derives from

the amalgamation of conspicuous

consumption and conspicuous

leisure. The net result of these two

activities is that socially valuable

resources (the raw materials and

human labor essential for the

production of consumer goods

and services) and time are wasted.

A glaring example of this culture

of waste is the depletion of natural

resources such as oil and minerals

in the manufacture of luxury ❯❯

See also: Karl Marx 28–31 ■ Charles Wright Mills 46–49 ■ Pierre Bourdieu 76–79 ■ Anthony Giddens 148–49 ■
Herbert Marcuse 182–87 ■ Colin Campbell 234–35 ■ Herbert Spencer 334

WORK AND CONSUMERISM

The concept of “Veblen goods,” or luxury goods

that signal high status, appeared in economic theory

in the 1970s. In a reversal of usual trends, the higher

the price of these items, the more they are desired.

DESIRE FOR LUXURY ITEM

PRICE OF LUXURY ITEM

Desire for goods increases

as price increases.