The Theory Of The Leisure Class

The issue involving Consumerism and its many affects on our world is one topic on its own, but how about if we take into consideration every product line to surface publically and be advertised is one that, takes on extensive research; as there are roughly 4,000 articles pertaining to Consumerism which is only one side of the argument, as we consider the profession of Interior Design into the picture, on our very own J. Paul Leonard Library website. Amongst the many articles that were funneled to me in my web search, The Theory of The Leisure Class (1899), written by Thorstein Veblen stood out to me the most because of how much it covers upon the topic in its concise manner. This Economic study follows very closely with our issue of Consumerism. The profession of Interior Design is one of the many that allow for this trending lifestyle, that relies as heavily as it does on this construct called,Social-Class Consumerism. Thorstein Veblen is the author of The Theory Of The Leisure Class and was an American economist and sociologist from (1857-1929), as well as the leader of theInstitutional EconomicsMovement. Veblen goes over many aspects of Consumerism like the social split that is found in most any culture that separates “the hunter from the gatherer in the tribe”,Thorstein Veblen.

This is one way to look at how and why Consumerism is affecting our world and why we are allowing it to with such leniency. Veblen also mentions the role that Social Status plays in the efforts to fight the rate that we allow Consumerism to take over the world completely, because without that split between the neighborhoods and the cities, this would make it impossibly difficult for our kind to flock together. Thankfully we have never had a hard time with that, this natural instinct to find others like us, is how we created these neighborhoods, which might have been called tribes first.

In Veblen’s study, he introduces something called, Conspicuous Consumption, which is the “acquiring of luxury goods and services to publically display economic power”. This is the act of “attaining or of maintaining a given social status”, which describes the perpetrators in this issue, on the other hand is someone considered to be in thelower class which is discussed extensively in The Theory Of The Leisure Class. Velblen describes Conspicuous Consumption as the mechanics of how our consumerist culture is run.

Humans are defined and are known for being rational, clever and logical, even better, we are known for trying to maximize our pleasure. Carrying this reputation around with us that does not hold a clear [negative or positive] connotation, this is the part of our personal reputation that we share worldwide. Because this is something that we have felt before, a constant desire, it makes it very hard to create a lifestyle that does not cater to our wants and needs. The issue of Consumerism comes up so often in our personal life, as I ask myself “ do I really need this?” as I make a purchase. This topic is very detailed and convoluted when it all comes down to all of the mindless spending that goes into our everyday life, and the idea of spending money on things that will “display economic power”.

http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/LCS/theoryleisureclass.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorstein_Veblen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspicuous_consumption

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_economics

It Is Easier Said Than Done.

Many people do not understand the issue of how Interior Design perpetuates Consumerism and for how complicated this relationship can become. Many people think about Consumerism and ask themselves, why isn’t anything being done; well to anyone wondering, what is there for us to do about this situation? The culture that we have grown up into is one where we spend money on food, shelter, and materials that we need, but this all goes unnoticed until our parents ask us and badger us about the spending money that was given to us, or our college budget, each month. As we muddle through our busy lives we get wrapped up all of this spending without acknowledging it until those things become more and more expensive, making it unaffordable and realistic to even crave that object. People are not constantly buying new cars because of how expensive they are, along with houses; most people only need one. The thing that many people are not able to grasp unless they are in the position themselves, is the difficulty of throwing your own profession under the bus even if it is to bring awareness to how Consumerism is taking us down one dollar at a time. Consumerism is something that we have built up by ourselves, which is one of the reasons people are frightened as to how long we will allow this vicious cycle to continue and bring us down. However since we have let it take over and become its own successful culture within itself that we have let thrive for this long, it has become something good, at the end of the day many people go home with a paycheck because of our consumerist culture.

Here we are, only able to bring to our attention of  the issue of how Interior Design is provoking our consumerist culture, however almost every purchase we make can link us to this vicious cycle of spending copious amounts of money. The reason why I think the bigger purchases like building a house or even just renovating your house for a new feel in your home, or purchasing a new car because your tired of your old one; these purchases are exclusive to the people that can afford them, this follows with all of the high end products; which leads us to the touchy subject of whether or not it is detrimental to the success of the company to bring awareness to its own involvement in consumerism. I believe that there are smart ways to spend your money, and although anyone is entitled to makes their own purchases as desired, I believe that we should bring awareness to the issue so that together we can be more mindful when it comes to buying our second car and our third house. Another problem that comes with this issue of our consumerist culture is that the people that are making most of the inane purchases are the ones that don’t have to care because with having that much money to spend, usually comes a mindset of not caring either which way. The topic of consumerism and its never ending cycle has many winding paths as to the types of people involved which makes it more of a social science experiment as well as the effects that might be detrimental to our economy if this type of issue was brought to our attention in a worldwide affect

How Money Plays It’s Role.

The Consumerist culture that we have created for ourselves feeds off of money and power. We go to college in the hopes of getting a degree and with that degree we will land a good job in the area of our preference. We thrive with these jobs that bring in a steady income and to shelter us, to feed us, and so that we are able to spend it on what we please. This is what is engraved into our minds as we get older, as we observe the people in our lives. Without that constant flow of money that enables us to spend and live a fulfilling life, we would break down; the culture we have created relies on money. We all need money to live, but with whatever amount you have, must we really spend constantly?

Many people hire an Interior Designer so that they can have a professionals mind in the game, while still being able to design along side them and still have a say in the matter. The transformation of a home takes lots of time and energy, which is why it is nice to have someone to bounce your ideas off of, which helps the client create something new and something they love. In the Interior Design industry money is the main component that keeps the ball rolling. The Interior Design firm and the client have money, although only one is dependent on the other. Money controls how much is budgeted towards each job, and this is a conversation that comes before any spending is done, along with the signing of the contract. While it always nice to think that the designer you have picked is going to keep your budget in mind, that is usually not the case, they are not your own personal banker, and most likely their minds are going to be on the quality and structure of the items purchased; when the client relies solely on the designer for these things is when a job is put on hold.

While the topic of Consumerism is embedded into the profession of Interior Design, it has made for a very complicated debate upon the effects of money into this pair. Having mentioned that money controls the ability for the profession of Interior Design to exist, this causes an issue when deciding whether or not design is perpetuating this very human need to spend money. With money in the picture, this allows for the profession of Interior Design to thrive and both the clientele and the design firms in the world to be alive. However without money, in the instance that everyone involved in the profession took into account how much of what they did everyday was affecting our world, this profession would not be able to exist. This is where is becomes an issue of how far is too far; when do we say that professions that involve this kind of spending are no longer to exist? Would that ever be the case, or is Consumerism going to keep going until the culture dies because there isn’t any more money to spend? This is a debate that involves the smaller community of Interior Designers, and any designer for that matter, along with the rest of us, which makes it almost impossible to come up with a final view on the subject. I would not jump to say that I am against consumerism because of its positive impact it has on the culture i live in, however I would like to see a change in the way people privilege themselves so often. Our consumerist culture that we have been so dependent on is one that we cannot easily gravitate away from, I believe that the best way for us to create a better image for our spending community, considering that it is impossible to undo what we’ve done.