Under the Great Recession’s impact, people had to reassess and modify their spending behaviors to choose the most profitable areas to invest in and distribute their financial flows. According to Veblen, “conspicuous consumption” is the finance allocation to purchase the elements of luxurious household items (a car, silver table-wear) to demonstrate human beings’ social position and status (33). Surowiecki states that this behavioral pattern is the main reason for the Great Recession phenomenon. As this excessive spending made most people broke, they had to reconsider their priorities. This drastic behavioral shift was the leading cause of the term “inconspicuous consumption” occurrence. Inconspicuous consumption implies investments in educational facilities in order to build cultural capital and the national legacy. People tend to create credible life foundations for themselves and their children rather than buy yachts and convertibles.
Presently, the longing for luxurious life has subsided, as individuals prefer to spend their money in a reasonable way. People are driven by the motto “not buy something just because you can” (Partan). This current mindset has created a decline in the Leisure Class, as people have started to question whether it was sensible to be members of a social elite and incur further debts. Representatives of Generation Z are the primary witnesses of this consumption shift. In the 2000s, people did not display financial literacy and operated on the “buy now-pay later” philosophy, pursuing fancy life. They were victims of a conspicuous consumption pattern that made them flat-broken. When the Great Recession hit them, they had to usher in inconspicuous consumption practices in their lifestyle to distribute their finances sensibly.
It stands to reason that social class boundaries are more restrictive today than ever before as individuals have reconsidered their financial prerogatives. At the present moment, people are highlighting the value of education and investment in human-capital facilities rather than shell out on material things and goods. People are more likely to resort to mass market services and distribute their finances on enlightenment courses rather than buy a trendy bag.
Works Cited
Partan, Elsa. “Inconspicuous Consumption still has a Cost.”CAI, 2019.
Surowiecki, James. “Inconspicuous Consumption.”The New Yorker, 2009.
Veblen, Thorstein. The Theory of the Leisure Class. General Press, 1899.