Theory of the Leisure Class

One of our four sons once stated in a living room conversation that we had accomplished the near impossible. He said, that through education, we had risen three notches up the class structure in the United States. His knowledge came out of his sociology class at the university. His statement amazed me at the time and I think about it yet, occasionally.

We did increase our income. But I find income alone does not automatically put one in a higher class of society. The little things will out you in every gathering. With women it is a matter of manicure. Sit at a patio table with a group of women of elite stature; they do not wear blue jeans and they have perfectly manicured fingernails. White cropped pants and shirts to match was the attire of the Memorial Weekend Event. The topic of the day was Kelly Ripa and her charm and wit with Regis. A Diet Pepsi seemed childish and out of place next to the clean martini(s), as were my garden variety, close clipped, unpainted fingernails.

I will go to the grave with my INFP temperment, my social undoing. But I might go to it having read "The Theory of the Leisure Class," written by that Norwegian, Thorstein Veblen, who theorized that the 'higher-status' group monopolized war and hunting while farming and cooking were considered inferior work. I see Amazon.com has a copy for three bucks. Some women would never utter those words, 'three bucks.'

That is who I am; my own landscaper, and I make a mean potato salad. That gets a person no status with a group of warriors and hunters. To Veblen, the athiest, society never grew out of this stage; it simply adapted into different forms and experssions of conspicuous consumption.

David Brooks theorizes that "The information age elite exercises artful dominion of the means of production, the education system." It is a good thing that He Who Must Be Obeyed and I clawed our way through the university, graduating when we were 40, in 1975. All our education got us was the title, Mr. and Mrs. Got Rocks. You can take that any way you like. With the drop in the stock market we dropped half of the rocks four years ago.

The party was enjoyable. Our beloved hosts had invited lots of friends with 17 little children. I still am amazed at that act of bravery; it tells you something of the love of these friends.