The Sum Of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class, Currid-Hacklett - B-

                                             The starting point of this economic/sociological assessment is Thorstein Veblen's 1899 book 'The Theory of the Leisure Class', which introduced the concept of conspicuous consumption and which the author states is one of the most important economic books ever written. The most famous example of said conspicuousness is the use of a silver spoon, when a mass-produced steel one looked just as good and performed the same function for a fraction of the price. That conspicuous consumers were of the upper class almost goes without saying. Fast forward through a century of mass production and the expansion of the consumer goods society to the creation of a new dynamic - where a meritocracy is focused on knowledge and culture, and is "less clearly defined by economic position."
                                             "A shared set of cultural practices and social norms" defines the aspirational class. They buy electric cars, organic food and breastfeed their young. On the road to proving the case re the aspirer's, the author turns to 'inconspicuous consumption' and defines it as 'the source of the new class divide." The inconspicuous consumers focus on investing in their children through extensive pre-natal care, breastfeeding, nannies, private education and lessons of all kinds. They eat kale and quinoa salads, while quoting Paul Krugman's op-ed pieces in the Times. They stream on Netflix and Hulu most likely in a culturally rich urban neighborhood.
                                              I understand that one does not need to be wealthy to care for your young, read the New Yorker or prefer kale slaw, but almost everything the author characterizes as inconspicuous requires money. It may not be flashy consumption, but I do not see the differences between today's indulgence and the aforementioned silver spoon. A $75,000 per person National Geographic tour of the Galapagos and Antarctica is hardly a vacation for 99.9% of this country. The author's case is not made in my book. I believe the preferred argument is that the now highly-educated have joined the wealthy of the past to do things differently than the masses. It also seems as if she is discussing the divide between blue and red sate America, without ever mentioning politics.