By Hyon O'Brien
Conspicuous consumption is a term used to describe the ostentatious spending on items and services to display one's income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display is done to attain the good opinion of others or to let the world know they have money. More colloquially, this behavior is summed up in the phrase ``keeping up with the Joneses".
Who first coined this phrase? In 1899, Thorsten Veblen (1857-1929), a Norwegian-American economist and sociologist, first used the term ``conspicuous consumption" in his book ``The Theory of the Leisure Class" written while he was a professor at the University of Chicago. He referred to people's practice of acquiring goods in order to show off their status. People, rich and poor alike, attempt to impress others and seek to gain advantage through conspicuous consumption. In this work Veblen argued that consumption is used as a way to gain and signal status. In the words of Thorsten Veblen, ``The possession of wealth confers honor."
Much of modern advertising is built upon the Veblenian notion of consumption. Each day most of the advertisements we're exposed to on TV, the Internet or in newspapers, radios and magazines prey on people's weaknesses; they hint that they need to buy a particular item to be considered rich and sophisticated.
The advertisers try to convince consumers that unless they have a certain product they can never feel certain that they have arrived at a certain status. This whole advertising business of pushing goods, particularly high-priced luxury goods, becomes what one observer calls the crude oil that runs the capitalistic economy.
Back in the late 60s when Korea was just beginning its journey to becoming a modern industrial economy, if a Korean family could afford a refrigerator they would place it in their living room. It was to show visitors that they could afford such an expensive appliance, which at the time was a rare luxury.
Nowadays they may adorn their living room with a state of the art sound system and a huge plasma TV that covers an entire wall. Owning a European sports car and playing golf are some of the most commonly used methods of showing that one has money. In Hong Kong, where we lived for eight years, our apartment building was by no means the home of the upper crust, but its parking lot boasted a Rolls Royce, a Ferrari and a number of Mercedes and BMWs, so our used Audi was like a run-down shanty in a sea of mansions.
Interestingly, research done recently by the University of Chicago showed that the more people earn, the less (proportionally) they spend on luxury or ``show-off" items. That conspicuous consumption decreases (about 13 percent with an increase of $10,000 in annual income) seems to show that they no longer feel the need to convince people that they have ``arrived." They now have gained confidence in their public position, so they turn their attention to inconspicuous consumption such as expensive vacations, luxurious Jacuzzis in their bathrooms, and other ways to spend money for their private comfort or enjoyment that is not meant to be seen by others. This type of consumption is not for showing off.
I read that in Russia and China these days, where each day more and more nouveaux riches are springing up, conspicuous consumption remains a big part of the lifestyle of the wealthy. The demand for Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton leather luggage and handbags and other brand-name goods is incredibly high. People with less money buy fake ones to pretend they also have money.
My older sister insightfully told me that when she shows up for a gathering with her girlfriends, she is the best dressed one so she can assume she has the least money among her affluent friends. She is well-off but not quite in the category where she can be nonchalant and ignore how she is dressed the way the really rich can.
Regarding clothes, I was shocked when attending a charity ball in 2005, the year we moved back to Seoul, one of the people at the table actually advised me to dress better because I might give the wrong kind of impression to people ― my friend thought that my husband's station in society might be adversely affected if I disregarded this aspect of life. I was actually being encouraged to indulge in conspicuous consumption!
My hope is that one day Korea comes to the point where no one is compelled to buy expensive cars or spend time playing golf to convince others of their wealth and status. I hope that one day people will be more compelled to share with others who have less.
I eagerly await that time when we all gain enough confidence so that we no longer look at the packaging of a person but connect with the real person inside. I guess this may destroy the current market economy so I am in a dilemma. Oh, well, we can't have everything.
Hyon O' Brien, a former reference librarian in the U.S., has returned to Korea after 32 years of living abroad. She can be reached at hyonobrien@gmail.com.