Paradox of Emulation (?)

Rachael

I agree with Chris that it seems amazing that so many terms of consumption, which we take for granted, were first expressed at such an early point. My question, however, comes for the term "standard of expenditure." In chapter 5, Veblen writes: " the standard of expenditure which commonly guides our efforts is not the average, ordinary expenditure already achieved; it is an ideal of consumption that lies just beyond our reach, or to reach which requires some strain. The motive is emulation - the stimulus of an invidious comparison which prompts us to outdo those with whom we are in the habit of classing ourselves." (71) Now this theory statement seems completely logical. The phrase "keeping up with the Jones'" has entered main stream culture as a benchmark to which people should strive to equal (although the phrase has recently been twisted to encompass 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians.' My question, however, lies in the connection between the above quotation and a passage at the end of the same chapter. Veblen proceeds to write that "the accepted standard of expenditure in the community or in the class to which a person belongs largely determines what his standard of living will be. It does this directly by commending itself to his common sense as right and good...it does so also indirectly through popular insistence on conformity to the accepted scale of expenditure as a matter of propriety, under pain of disesteem or ostracism." (76) It seems to me that a paradox develops between these two sentiments. Both quotations begin with a connection to the "standard of expenditure," but while the first speaks to it always being a desire to equal those above you, the second, states that the "accepted" standard will determine the standard of living for that class. If one conforms to the standard of his or her own class, it is through accepting what is determined to be right for that class. How do they, at the same time, determine what they should strive for, if they are supposed to be content with where they are? Does the standard of expenditure tell people what they are supposed to be and what they should want to be?