Conspicuous Consumption

After reading the article, Thorstein Veblen Conspicuous Consumption I was able have a greater understanding of the different social classes and the way society ran in the earlier twentieth century. The theme of this article was based off of the term coined by sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen. The term he introduced was conspicuous consumption. Conspicuous consumption is the spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth.

In the early twentieth century there was a social class called the leisure class. The leisure class was the upper class of the early twentieth century. People in the leisure class often bought very expensive items. One phrase in the reading that really stood out to me stated, "During the earlier stages of economic development, consumption of goods without stint, especially the consumption of the better grades of goods,-- ideally all consumption in excess of the subsistence minimum,-- pertains normally to the leisure class." The reason this line really stood out to me is because it proves the people in the upper class of society always have the nicer items and along with having all of the nicer items, more wealth equals more power. 

There are many ways that I can see how conspicuous consumption ties in with todays society. Many people of todays upper class often buy items in order to "show off" just how much money they have. For example, if you happened to google image search most of the big famous athletes houses or cars, you would notice that most of them have million dollar houses and very expensive cars. They want to show off just how much money they really have. I think another great example would be the United States as a country. The U.S. is undoubtably the most powerful nation in the world. We have no problem showing off just how wealthy we really are. We have the best road systems, the newest and biggest buildings. We spend billions on entertainment venues every year. 

I think Matthew 6:24 tackles the issue of conspicuous consumption very well. This verse states, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." 

I think as christians we have a duty to really watch how we handle the way we gain and spend our money. It is very important to make sure that in everything we do that we are able to hold God higher than our job or the money we make. After all, He did give us the ability to have that job and make that money. I'm not saying it is wrong to have and buy nice things, but it is important that as christians we know our intentions when we buy nice things. 

Ultimately buying and having nice things should be used for God in some way. For example, if you are wealthy enough to purchase a large house, then maybe you could hold a large Bible study in that house. I think as christians, we sometimes get wrapped up in the way society uses their money and don't realize our intentions when using our money. This can be a very dangerous thing. The good thing is that God forgives and it's not too late to turn what you have bought around and use it for God's purpose.