In all likelihood, you are not the wealthiest person you know. In fact, it’s quite possible you are, or have been, quite destitute. No stranger to daily meals of ramen noodles and milk. However, through some distorted delusion you probably owned clothes fancy enough for people not to take notice in your financial situation. Conversely, even the most middle class of households in America could, if they wanted, appear quite wealthy. Through fiscal irresponsibility (probably caused by financial illiteracy) an individual with decent credit can purchase an astonishingly expensive car to show off to his friends. Undoubtedly owing the envy of his friends to the simple fact that in American culture it’s not hard to fake class.
There once was a time, long ago, when those with wealth, status and power were all one and the same. These rare individuals enjoyed a life of leisure in their houses far away from the soiled hands of the rest of civilization. In the purest form the high class individuals didn’t simply purchase products of luxury, but they lived a lifestyle fashioned from a rich history of tradition. Class wasn’t something that could be faked, bought, or made; those who were lucky were ascribed from birth.
Fast forward about two centuries and the mark of what the public perceives as class can be seen in every department store in every mall in America. The union of wealth, status and power into making all things of class has become fragmented into separate spheres of living, creating an odd triad of qualities that are almost never seen together. Any individual in America with enough of one of these characteristics can surely gain the others, and the lustrous lifestyle that previously only the few enjoyed can now be access, at least in part, by a majority of individuals who occupy this great nation. The decadence of indulgence has not taken very long, relatively speaking and its course took roots in ruining the purity of a high-class life.
It is impossible to ignore the impact of physical goods on the fall of the leisure class, since its effects are most prominent in our everyday lives. Once companies like Luis Vutton and Prada began commercializing their business models around the globe, all hell broke loose. Through actions like this flagship stores began popping up all over and if an individual couldn’t afford a several hundred-dollar purse, a $50 perfume bottle allowed them to bring home a little chunk of the leisure lifestyle. The cookie cutter mold of class that has surfaced in the last century has turned all of us into connoisseurs of fashion, art, and technology.
Through all of the things to yield high status that can be faked there is one quality, true to high prestige, that can never be faked over time: the way an individual spends leisure time. Learning a novel skill or partaking in obscure hobbies have been favorite activities of high class individuals throughout time. The converse relationship between leisure and consumption is a simple one, but an important point to keep in mind. While conspicuous consumption is an obvious yet fallible indicator of status, activities within leisure are less evident but have a high quality of veracity. An individual who spent time learning the useless language of Latin should be valued at a higher class than an individual with a Ralph Lauren T-shirt.
The hope of this short essay is to raise awareness to this odd issue, in hopes that more people will be motivated to act. If we had more readers, thinkers and dreamers in our society the progress we could make is amazing. Unfortunately every individual I know is too damn worried about making a quick buck so they can go shop at the Tommy Hilfiger outlet and show off to their friends.
So sad.
The book was never better