Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption

Introduction

• The speaker intends to explore Thorstein Veblen's ideas in a fun and interesting way.
• It is suggested the audience reflect on their own behaviors and motivations before dismissing Veblen's theories.
• Many actions stem from unconscious desires, like seeking attention or displaying wealth, which people often rationalize away.
• People engage in conspicuous consumption and leisure to demonstrate their wealth and free time, according to Veblen.

Confessions and Examples

• The speaker begins with personal examples to pre-empt accusations of hypocrisy.
• The speaker's beard is referenced as a display of not needing to maintain a manicured appearance due to his profession as a professor and creative thinker.
• The speaker references his books as portraying the time and affluence to read philosophical works.
• Others do similar things, like knowing about astrology, yoga, superfoods, obscure religions, or woke topics, to show free time and knowledge of obscure things.

Pimps and Middle-Class Women

• The speaker illustrates with an analogy of the cartoonish version of a pimp.
• A pimp's fancy clothing, jewelry, cane, and chalice are symbols of not needing to work.
• A middle-class woman with a coffee, cell phone, and bag mimics this symbolism by appearing busy but not engaged in hard labor.
• This woman's inability to easily perform tasks like opening doors suggests a life of leisure, like a trophy wife.

Long Fingernails

• Long fingernails symbolize an inability to perform manual labor.
• Constantly changed nail colors signify extra wealth and free time for non-essential activities.
• Tight clothing and shoes that are difficult to walk in also indicate a person who doesn't need to work.

Wealthy Displays and Status

• Having multiple cars and meticulously maintained landscaping shows the number of servants one can afford.
• Men in the 50s-80s wore perfect, expensive suits to demonstrate wealth and privilege despite working for a living.
• The concept of the trophy wife, or a wife who displays leisure and doesn't work, emerged.
• A perfectly kept home, constant car washes, and impeccably clean clothes also aim to project wealth and status.

Leisure and Hobbies

• People devote themselves to activities like yoga, sports trivia, and nutrition to display leisure time.
• Spending a fortune on a gaming computer and bragging about overclocked frame rates serve a similar purpose.
• Extensive hours researching anime or other niche interests signals free time and devotion to hobbies.
• Expensive t-shirts and yoga clothes indicate casual wealth, displaying the ability to engage in leisure activities.

Reversal of Status Symbols

• Historically, pale skin and a chubby or frail physique symbolized wealth because they indicated not having to work outdoors.
• Modern status symbols include a tan, a jeep for vacations, and a physique maintained through gym workouts.
• Physical appearances are heavily maintained through eyebrow shaping, eyelash extensions, and constant haircuts.
• Even working-class individuals allocate time and resources to imitate these status symbols.

Social Media and Extravagance

• Continuous posting on social media creates the illusion of having unlimited free time.
• Purchasing expensive items with unnecessary features demonstrates extravagant wealth.
• Cell phones with excessive tech, impractical super cars, and spotless power trucks are examples of this behavior.
• Jeeps with unused off-road accessories create an image of a lifestyle devoted to leisure activities.

Historical Parallels

• People have historically kept slightly used candles to appear as though they always have fresh candles.
• Luxuries like salt, pepper, and sugar were used to signal wealth, with some even rotting their teeth to show sugar consumption.
• These behaviors are not new, and people today are no different from those who flaunted their wealth in the past.