Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

The premise of the book was very good. The author examined several statistical indexes across a range of topics to measure the perceived divide between rural and urban America. She followed up by interviewing several people from all over the country. She found that the differences are not as great as media pundits and politicians make out. Honest, open discussions between people would do a great deal to help people realize that we have more in common than we might think otherwise.

While she stated several times that her job was to listen and record rather than judge, her tone was a bit condescending from the beginning and got worse as the book continued. I think she tried to be open, but couldn't keep the superiority out of her narrative. I finally had to stop reading about 250 pages.… (més)

A discussion of class as economic and cultural concept, mostly focused on the US and other developed countries.

The book was a bit dry at times, but it was still interesting to read the examples of class signifiers, and how the wealthy have changed from conspicious consumption (Veblen) to inconspicuous consumption and conspicuous production. The book is based on an economics/sociology research project, similar to [b:The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy|998|The Millionaire Next Door The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy|Thomas J. Stanley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348313018l/998._SY75_.jpg|5210]. I read this in tandem with [b:I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time|23399024|I Know How She Does It How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time|Laura Vanderkam|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421012149l/23399024._SY75_.jpg|44459554] and [b:We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power|54626274|We Should All Be Millionaires A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power|Rachel Rodgers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608508430l/54626274._SY75_.jpg|85228054], which contain many more examples to illustrate Currid-Halkett's point.… (més)

Most of us no longer engage in conspicuous consumption to signal what class we are in. But we do engage in inconspicuous consumption, and conspicuous production, and conspicuous leisure, to achieve the same ends. To briefly define each of these: inconspicuous consumption is spending more on health care, insurance, kids' educations, and in-home help. Conspicuous production is emphasis on where and how things are produced. Conspicuous leisure might be breastfeeding and attachment parenting.

It's different from the days when someone used silver cutlery or drove a flashy car to signal how upper-class they were. Now, an NPR tote bag does the same thing, according to the author. It doesn't signal that we are rich, because anyone on a barista or artist salary can and does afford such a thing; it signals us as members of a particular class, which she dubs the "aspirational class."

I had a hard time keeping my head wrapped around how "aspirational class" is different from "liberal." Also, a lot of this book was a big "ouch" for me. But I LIKE buying overpriced organic vegetables, and supporting local businesses wherever possible! I genuinely like it! I'm not just "signaling" something. I like it because... why? I feel somehow it improves the world, right? Do I really have to start shopping at Wal-mart and buying supermarket brands of everything in order to be "genuine"? Won't that just be signaling a different thing?

Sayeth the author: "Does being different from others, being better than others at acquiring possessions or the perfect heirloom tomatoes, or making the decision and investment to breast-feed or feed your family organic produce really advance society at all?" When we remember that none of these thing are options for huge segments of society who lack the means, we ought to be honest and recognize that to really make the world a better place, we would do better to work towards flattening out the economic inequality around us.

So, ouch, and touche, and point taken. But it still doesn't mean people sport their farmer's market produce in public in order to engage in signaling that they are of the 'aspirational class'. If they (fine, WE!) are signaling anything, it's that we are on Team Liberal. It does make me uncomfortable. Food for thought.… (més)

A hybrid academic-popular look at consumerism and how it has changed Americans' perception of their status within society. Some of the examples remind me of my undergrad years at an elite private university (guess which one!), where at the start of every new semester many, many classmates showed up with the same new clothes, shoes, bags, etc. The unspoken cache of knowing what was trending and the ability to buy and wear it immediately is what the author defined well here, as well as using the knowledge of where your coffee / clothing / shoes came from as its own cultural marker of status. However, I'm not sure where to go with this information, as I found the overall argument more muddled than the definitions of aspirational class identity and behaviors.… (més)