Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Currid-Halkett, Elizabeth (1978-....)
Titre(s) : The sum of small things [Texte imprimé] : a theory of the aspirational class / Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
Publication : Princeton : Princeton university press, copyright 2017
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (X-254 p.) : ill. ; 25 cm
Note(s) : Bibliogr. p. 233-246. Index
"In today's world, the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated
and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly
buy organic, carry NPR tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet,
inconspicuous consumption--like eating free-range chicken and heirloom tomatoes, wearing
organic cotton shirts and TOMS shoes, and listening to the Serial podcast. They use
their purchasing power to hire nannies and housekeepers, to cultivate their children's
growth, and to practice yoga and Pilates. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
dubs this segment of society "the aspirational class" and discusses how, through deft
decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, the aspirational class
reproduces wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide. Exploring
the rise of the aspirational class, Currid-Halkett considers how much has changed
since the 1899 publication of Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class. In that
inflammatory classic, which coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption," Veblen described
upper-class frivolities: men who used walking sticks for show, and women who bought
silver flatware despite the effectiveness of cheaper aluminum utensils. Now, Currid-Halkett
argues, the power of material goods as symbols of social position has diminished due
to their accessibility. As a result, the aspirational class has altered its consumer
habits away from overt materialism to more subtle expenditures that reveal status
and knowledge. And these transformations influence how we all make choices. With a
rich narrative and extensive interviews and research, The Sum of Small Things illustrates
how cultural capital leads to lifestyle shifts and what this forecasts, not just for
the aspirational class but for everyone."
Sujet(s) : Classe oisive
Modes de vie
Classes sociales
Indice(s) Dewey :
305.52 (23e éd.) = Classes supérieures
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780691162737 (rel.). - ISBN 0691162735
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb455946862
Notice n° :
FRBNF45594686
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : The twenty-first century "leisure" class ; Conspicuous consumption in the twenty-first
century ; Ballet slippers and Yale tuition: inconspicuous consumption and the new
elites ; Motherhood as conspicuous leisure in the twenty-first century ; Conspicuous
production ; Landscapes of consumption ; "To get rich is glorious"? The state of
consumption and class in America ; Appendix : Consumer expenditure survey
