Post-Colonial? Post-Nothing.
In the Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen discusses conspicuous consump¬tion, leisure, and waste, as the ultimate expression of the pecuniary culture. Veblen asserts that the predatory powers, which were highly revered in less developed cultures, manifests itself in today’s society in the concentration of high incomes among few members of the society. The large incomes, however, are useless if they cannot be projected, so we have created for ourselves various mechanisms to permit them to be displayed. Conspicuous consumption, that is the ostentatious extravagance with the articles we purchase, is a means of flaunting these predatory abilities. Our clothes, cars, homes, etc. give a clear indication of our predatory order. Thus, we have produced in our society an operative method of distinguishing between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ |