There is still much to be said on conspicuous consumption even today in a depressed economy and especially here in Southern California, where I live. Wealth is always on display and consumption is conspicuous and at the forefront of society.
It’s a badge of honor to be wasteful especially today. I believe conspicuous consumption will always happen even in bad times only to a lesser degree.
I find it curious that Veblen ( he coined the phrase- conspicuous consumption) died in California and no doubt his research was based on the waste seen here everyday notably in the movie and music industries though in his time the movie industry was the visibly main source of consumption in this country.
In Veblen’s time, America was experiencing a renaissance of wealth with the J.P.Morgans and the Rockefellers. The country was expanding exponentially and many were getting in on the ground floor in steel, with railroads, and in building. We also have to remember there was no income tax then. Every penny made went into personal accounts. Spending was the word of the day. No one expected it to end until the 1929 crash. The kind of wealth created then without doubt attributed to the growth and expansion of conspicuous consumption. In fact, it became a way of life to see who could outdo the other.
Look at the Hearst Newspaper empire. The now famous Castle he built could never be build today. Talk about frivolous! But to anyone who has been there, what a creation.
Sure buyers of art are cautious but art can never be equated with a Hummer. The rich may also be looking for bargains but what they conceive as a bargain may be the difference between one million as opposed to two million for a painting by Picasso or Dali.
The common person, in America at least, still doesn’t see art of any kind as an investment valuable, but his Hummer, now that’s a different story.
Conspicuous consumption is a part of human nature. This is the case since man rose to walk upright. The quest for the best started with food, then shelter and even for a mate. Humans are competitive and it extends to possessions necessary (frivolous) or not. If my neighbor has one, I need one better, maybe two. This crosses all social lines and all nationalities. The more you make, the more you want. This is especially true in Southern California.With times being what they are there seems to be a tightening of the purse strings, even those with money to spend. Everyone is looking for bargains.
Though art isn’t necessarily an intrinsic part of this equation.
Because art is very difficult to put a price on, so called “experts”created a (false) value system for art to have monetary value.What makes art valuable is made up of circumstances created in order to sell it. It we were to say the cost of materials was it’s value, most works of art would be no more than twenty to fifty dollars if that. But we add Quality whatever that means, Difficulty, Size, Scarcity, Greed, and Myth, plus a host of other factors and voile, worth!
Art, technically, is worthless. Most things are worthless until a value is placed on it. Value is gauged on who wants it and how much they are willing to pay for it.
Dali was right when he said he (sic) “doesn’t create art, he creates wealth”.
So getting back to conspicuous consumption, if you are willing to pay the price, no matter the cost, that item is worth that much. Those who can afford to flaunt it, don’t worry that cost. If money is no object, who is to blame the buyer for paying too much. An Old Chinese phrase goes " a fool and his money are soon parted".
