The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class

by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

First, the rich and upper middle class—that is, those in the top 1% and those in the top 5% and 10% income brackets—spend less as a percentage of their expenditures on conspicuous consumption relative to what the US average spends on the same goods, while the middle class—the 40th–60th percentiles—spends more. Second, as a share of their expenditures, the middle class is spending more on conspicuous consumption relative to their income while the wealthy (and the very poor) are spending less. Third, conspicuous consumption among the rich has been replaced by “inconspicuous consumption”—spending on nonvisible, highly expensive goods and services that give people more time and, in the long term, shape life chances. These include education, health care, child care, and labor-intensive services like nannies, gardeners, and housekeepers.