The amount of your expenses has ceased to be the main symbol of status

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In the modern world, accents of status people have shifted.

Now this is not the one who spends a lot, but the one who works a lot - this is what is now a sign of class superiority, the newspaper writes The Guardian.

Almost 120 years ago, sociologist Thorsteyn Veblen coined the term "demonstrative consumption," he applied it to people who spent a lot of money to demonstrate their wealth.

According to Veblen, the cause of unreasonable expenses lies in power. Rich people showed their superiority by demonstrating that they could spend a large sum on things they did not need.

In subsequent decades, conspicuous consumption has deeply rooted in the principle of American capitalism. Modern tycoons demonstrate their wealth by buying islands and super yachts, while presidents cover all their property with gold.

But buying expensive goods is not the only thing that shows the power of the modern elite. Recently, a new sign of high social status. Now, to be counted among successful people requires not only demonstrative consumption, but also demonstrative production.

If conspicuous consumption is the worship of luxury, then demonstrative production is worship of labor. This is not about how much you spent, but how hard you work.

Nowhere is the cult of demonstrative production visible as well as among general directors of American companies. Modern top managers are zealous workaholics.

Head Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), Tim Cook wakes up at 3: 45. CEO General Electric Jeffrey Immelt has been working on 24 hours per week for 100 years, and Yahoo Marissa Mayer talked about 130 hours a week.

We have to admit that these people have no need to work. Most Americans work because their lives depend on salary. Mayer, Immelt and Cook can retire tomorrow and spend the rest of their lives in comfortable conditions - in total they own about $ 1,5 billion.

But the principle of demonstrative production does not include the receipt of any material benefits. This is a public demonstration of productivity, as a symbol of class power. The elite must show themselves and others why it deserves to receive more.

Tim Cook is about 500 000% richer than the average American - but he wakes up at 3: 45 every morning. This is a distinctive feature of demonstrative consumption: it justifies the existence of a leading class, showing its superhuman effectiveness.

The irony is that grueling working days are not only a sign of elite. Less fortunate Americans also work a lot, although they do not have the opportunity to talk about this to a wide audience.

Residents of the United States are now working much more than a few decades ago - especially women, blacks, and those who are below the poverty line. The reason is simple: since 1970's, the size of the salary has not changed much, which means that today's workers have to work harder to make ends meet.

Compare a woman who works for the minimum wage and one who spends the same amount of time at work, but receives $ 30 million. The first one tries to earn money on food and shelter, and the second one shows her strength and prestige. In the usual sense of the last work is not needed.

Demonstrative consumption and demonstrative production show dominance, making shows from surplus. In the first case, the surplus looked like a woman hung with pearls, who stood next to the woman in old clothes. Now they look like a woman who works on 130 hours a week, but does not need money, compared to someone who works the same, but can only pay rent.

With a demonstrative production, most Americans, who will never run large companies, can still make a fetish job.

One of the ways out is to turn free time into work on yourself. Start going to fitness centers - places where work aimed at self-improvement serves as a continuation of work aimed at making money.

Everyone says that the goal of working on yourself is “health”. But the amount of time that wealthy Americans spend on exercise is much higher than the required figure in order to truly be healthy. This is because the modern system of gyms and special food is not designed to make people feel good.

All this is necessary to express class superiority. In the modern world, you can determine the salary of a person by his physique - signs of elitism are literally drawn on his body.

But you don’t need to be a CEO or just a rich man to be part of a demonstrative production. Thanks to technology, you can now see the opportunity to be productive in everything. You can follow your sleep, sex and steps with FitBit, determine the attractiveness of tinderits wit in Twitter, and popularity in Facebook.

You can turn your personality into a set of data that can be monitored, analyzed and optimized. While working on yourself, you create economic value for others.

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