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

by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

for the past 40 years, everyone but the top 10% has experienced flat annual incomes, with paychecks no better in real dollars than they were in 1973.

Today, the division between the aspirational class and the rest is defined by college degrees, health, well-being, mortality rates, and time spent with one’s children.

In all of our consuming—conspicuous and inconspicuous—we may be missing out on living our lives, entirely.

In its summation of things big and small, consumption is a process and positioning of conveying information and identity.