Supplement to conspicuous consumption

How can the super-rich show off their wealth today when conspicuous consumption enters thousands of households?

The reopening of Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysé es is a well-designed rehearsal aimed at providing luxury consumption for the general public. In the newly opened store, dignified French ladies-the mainstream consumers of traditional luxury fashion products-and girls wearing jeans, T-shirts and sportswear snuggle side by side to buy products under the gorgeous art decorative porch. These girls may be their daughters, but they are more likely to be rappers or British working-class people who come here on weekends.

What brings new partners to these traditional luxury consumers? Of course, that's a little elegant. But they seem to feel that Louis Vuitton's exquisite handbags, shoes and other luxuries should belong to them as before. However, LVMH Mo &；; EumlT Hennessy Louis Vuitton hopes to further expand its market with its brand, provided that it does not lose existing customers. Louis Vuitton products are symbols of noble social status, so if it is no longer possible to flaunt its unique status, traditional customers may not continue to shop here.

There is no doubt that LVMH products are unique in this respect. LVMH's products and services used to be the reserved rights of a few rich people ―― from marked handbags, express delivery, clothes customization to home service, which are gradually entering the lives of ordinary people, and may not have spread to everyone, but millions of people all over the world can enjoy these services. This may surprise economists like robert frank, who are often unpleasant. A few years ago, robert frank wrote a book, which was accused of setting off a "luxury consumption wave" in this new "luxury era". But there is no doubt that this trend makes the super-rich who can bear high consumption for a long time very depressed. Crucially, people may regard these products as ordinary products.

More than a century ago, Tollstam Veblen wrote On the Leisure Class. In his book, he created a phrase: conspicuous consumption, which shows that spending money on extravagant and useless products and services is "proof of wealth", while not being able to buy enough high-quality products is regarded as an inferior person. However, James Lawson of the Ledbury Institute said that in the 2 1 century, "it is getting harder and harder to be a conspicuous consumer". Ledbury Research Institute is a company that provides market trend consultation for luxury goods industry. So what can today's billionaires do to attract attention?

Popular luxury goods

A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Louis Vuitton took the lead. In June+10, 5438, the World Luxury Congress was held in the Eastern Hemisphere in the classical and magnificent five-star hotel of Four Seasons George V. The contents of the meeting are all about how to tap potential customers, including the wealthy class and the emerging wealthy class-new consumers of luxury goods.

Millionaires are becoming more and more common. According to the latest annual survey of Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, in 2004, there were 8.3 million households in the world whose assets were not less than 1 billion, an increase of 7% over the beginning of the year. These "nouveau riche" are eager for social recognition, so they spend a lot of money to buy brand products commonly used by "old aristocrats". In developed countries, the obvious example we see is the rise of the brand "Beaded with jewels". Rappers were the first to show off their identity by wearing jewels, diamonds and other luxuries. The same is true of Chaff, a British minimalist who loves Burberry. Burberry is considered to have achieved great success in opening up the market. But now it also understands that not every new customer is worth looking forward to. It took back its unique plaid baseball cap precisely because chavs was so popular.

In developed countries, the sharp increase of luxury consumers is reflected in two trends: First, more and more consumers adopt the purchase strategy of "buying high-priced goods and selling low-priced goods". Many traditional middle-priced consumers are increasingly willing to buy a lot of extremely cheap and a few genuine luxury goods, instead of spending money on middle-priced products. These luxuries are beyond their consumption level.

The number of "a few luxury owners" of this "selective luxury consumption" has been growing. In the past, they only provided services for traditional customers who were shopping at full price, but now they can also enjoy these services. Because some companies such as NetJets sell private jets, "a few luxury owners" attracted the attention of the market, and then they expanded to buy luxury resorts, express trains and so on. In America, people often infer your property from handbags. There is a saying that "how good a handbag is, how much property there is." Therefore, "less than the last one, more than the next one" people have rented brand-name bags. In Britain, damon hill, a former racing driver, launched the P 1 International Class A membership program, with an entry fee of 2,500 pounds (about 4,300 US dollars), plus an annual membership fee of 65,438 pounds+03,750 pounds, and he can get 50-70 days of driving time every year. Members can choose between Range Rover Sport Edition, Mercedes-Benz Edition and Ferrari Edition.

Therefore, "what the traditional rich can get, the new rich can also get by joining the club, and the price paid is much lower", Mr. Lawson said, which is not good news for those who are bent on becoming "conspicuous consumers". Because others will ask, "How can I tell if the Ferrari overtaking is the owner or just a weekend rental member?"

In some emerging economies, such as Russian, Indian, Brazilian and China, the demand for luxury goods is also growing rapidly. Antoine Colonna, an analyst at Merrill Lynch, estimated that in 20 10, China consumers accounted for 1 1% of global luxury consumption, and most of their income came from overseas consumption. He predicted that by 20 14, China will surpass the United States and Japan to become the world's largest luxury consumer, and the global luxury consumption revenue will increase by 24%.

At the same time, these emerging consumers are very fond of top luxury brand products, and the bosses of these brands are increasingly eager to take a fancy to them. There is no doubt that Russia's "conspicuous consumers" are booming. Roman Abramovich, a famous oligarch, has set new acquisition standards for manor houses, ski resorts and football teams.

Interview Torstam Van Buren again

In the past, wealthy people would buy bigger houses, longer and more luxurious yachts or get special services from client companies to show their uniqueness. However, with the change of people's consumption concept, large companies can no longer judge from these appearances, let alone make marginal utility budgets. At the same time, the public is increasingly reluctant to be too ostentatious. Even when 200 1 space travel is popular, when dennis tito pays 20 million dollars to visit the International Space Station, this topic will soon become a cliche, which makes people feel nothing new.

Apparent consumption is increasingly unable to show its wealth and dignity. So, will traditional consumers give up this consumption pattern? Virginia Postrel, author of "The Essence of Style", said that conspicuous consumption is very important for people who have just got rid of poverty, and nationals in emerging economies prefer this consumption mode. In developed countries, people with status pay more attention to entertainment consumption. For example, a woman who has just entered the ranks of super-rich will buy a private jet, but soon, she will say, "Not waiting at the airport with ordinary people doesn't mean that I am much different from them." So, she also changed her consumption pattern.

Gilles Lipovetsky, the favorite philosopher of Bernard Arnold, the owner of LVMH, coined the word "super consumption" in his new book "Ultra-modern Times". This kind of consumption has spread to all aspects of life. It encourages people to spend not to improve their social status, but to live a happier life. H·L· Mencken's view is clearer than that of Van Buren in 19 19. He said, "Do I like kissing a beautiful girl or a maid? It goes without saying. Because even the gatekeeper can kiss the maid, beautiful girls make me happier and feel better. "

However, for fear that their identity will be forgotten, the way the rich show their identity is becoming more and more complicated. With the increasing inequality in developed countries, some rich people worry that this conspicuous consumption will cause public jealousy and try their best to steal their wealth. For example, some experts in the automobile industry now complain that the profit of the latest luxury cars is too small.

Similarly, there are traditional conspicuous consumption and "self-entertainment". The Ledbury Institute has established two motives for the consumption of the rich: expressing appreciation and becoming an "early adopter". There is no doubt that such consumption can show a person's identity. They are respected as connoisseurs because of their rich knowledge. For example, they can taste good wine that has been brewing for a long time, and they can also distinguish the authenticity of Swiss handmade watches. "Early adopters" refer to those who are the first to use new technology products. Millionaires in Silicon Valley can use amphibious planes to avoid traffic jams on the Bay Bridge. Some millionaires pay $50,000 to clone their pet cats with new technology.

Marian Salzman, a trend leader, said that conspicuous consumption is becoming increasingly obvious in the United States: sending children to the best schools for education. Today, entering Harvard University is the top luxury consumption. Joining some societies can also reflect a person's social status. Nowadays, young and wealthy Americans like to join the Central Club in new york. Only by accepting the invitation can you join these clubs and become a member. The membership fee is $55,000 and the annual fee is $65,438+02,000.

However, in this era of mass luxury consumption, noble social status is truly reflected in "conspicuous non-consumption". However, this is not what David Brooks described in Bobo Paradise: wearing shabby clothes and driving a broken car. He called this the development trend of Bobo nationality. This way can only prove that you are really rich, but it can't prove that you know how to spend correctly. So, what is the real "no consumption"? For example, charity is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Organizations like the Bill and Gates Foundation have donated billions of dollars to charity. This is a typical "no consumption" of the rich. New philanthropists also hope that their donations will bring them a good reputation. It can be seen that this is not consistent with Torstam Van Buren's statement that "it is a complete waste of money". Therefore, these philanthropists should be labeled as "rich people", and they have also contributed to the state government's tax revenue. However, those wealthy Americans who don't care about conspicuous non-consumption, such as george soros, Bill Gates Sr (Bill Gates' father) and Warren Buffy, are running for the state government to abolish the real estate inheritance tax. At the 4th Shenyang International Food Festival in China, the "Man-Han Banquet", which attracted wide attention from the society because of its cost of 200,000 yuan, slowly deteriorated in the hot air. According to the organizer, as soon as the three-day exhibition period is over, most of these delicious dishes, which are genuine and expensive, will be dumped into the trash can, and a few will try to make "specimens".

Spending 0.2 million/200 thousand to hold a "Manchu-Han banquet" is not only extremely luxurious, but will eventually be dumped. This is a typical extravagance and waste, which will naturally be widely criticized by the media and the public. We don't know what the organizers think, or realize that our approach is inappropriate, and even feel wronged and dissatisfied: what do you care if I spend my own money?

In today's society, are there still few people who have this kind of psychology? Housing pursues high standards, large area and luxurious interior decoration; Cars are discriminated against for pursuing large-displacement, luxurious and economical small cars. There are also 1.5 million yuan dinner, 1 10,000 yuan "sky-high moon cakes", hundreds of thousands of "golden books" and "golden paintings", and so on. In short, people's lifestyles are generally pursuing luxury, and the nouveau riche mentality of pursuing low-grade tastes is growing among some people, and we are caught in a colorful consumption whirlpool. Moreover, people also plausibly said, "I spend my own money, what are the obstacles for others?"

Indeed, in a society that respects individual choice, everyone has the right to choose freely in consumption. But no matter who you are, you have the right to spend money, but you have no right to waste it! People's conspicuous consumption is not only a problem of excessive consumption of energy and resources, but also implies the negative impact of consuming scarce resources. Although the use of resources and energy is a market behavior, once it is consumed, it no longer exists. Moreover, any resources and energy are public, and anyone has only the right to use them reasonably according to law, and has no right to waste money. You can have money, but there is no reason to waste it. Even if you pay, you have no right to squander things!

As Academician Pan said: "If you have money, you can go to a banquet of 654.38+10,000 yuan, but you can't leave a lot of vegetables in the swill bucket, and the rest will be severely punished; 65,438+10,000 yuan can stay in the presidential suite one night, but you can't waste tap water; You can't make a 4-ton jiaozi for the Guinness Book of Records. The result is that there is no pot to cook. In short, you love spending money, but you have no right to waste resources, which will be condemned by the whole society and prohibited by law. "

"Strong is frugal, poor is not poor." As a virtue, saving is not only a matter of simply enhancing the consciousness of saving, but also a matter of cultivating scientific consumption patterns. It is a major issue related to whether the economy and society can achieve sustainable development and how our future generations can survive. Because in today's China, the resource and energy crisis is no longer "alarmist". Therefore, we must actively guide all members of society to firmly establish the concept of production and life with saving as pride and saving as beauty, build a saving culture, advocate saving civilization, educate every citizen to live a frugal, civilized, healthy and scientific life, be ashamed of conspicuous consumption, and truly form a social moral trend of "saving glory and wasting shame". In 2005, the registration for the national civil service examination was unprecedentedly hot, and both the number of applicants and the number of people who passed the qualification examination reached record highs-the number of applicants for this civil service examination was 5415,520,000, and the number of people who passed the qualification examination was 316,560, competing for more than 8,400 positions, and the talent supply-demand ratio was as high as 37:/kloc-0.

What does it mean for civil servants to apply for the heat wave?

Applying for civil service is just a career choice for many people. But when we think deeply, it reflects the deep-rooted official standard thought in the minds of foreigners.

I still remember when I was a child, my parents often said, "Being an official is better than selling hookah." In people's eyes, civil servants who eat public meals are "officials", village officials outside the establishment are also "officials", and county "officials" nicknamed "seven sesame officials" on the stage are parents.

From this perspective, applying for civil servants is to be an "official" and like to be an "official". Judging from the thousands of years' history of civilization evolution in China, the logic of being an official and being an official has naturally inherited the "excellent historical tradition", and the fact that the number of applicants for civil service examinations has reached record highs in recent years has once again confirmed this tradition.

Turning the topic of being an "official" to the perspective of market supply and demand, it is natural to mention the German Gunter Poole. 1980, Gü nter Poole investigated conspicuous consumption in Germany, and then pointed out in his published economic theory analysis works that the "official" position (productization) itself is also a conspicuous consumption.

From this perspective, people's enthusiasm for civil servants means that civil servants are labeled as conspicuous consumption to tell others that the labeled people are not only different, but also superior in intelligence, wealth and social status.

After more than 20 years of economic reform and rapid GDP growth, the pursuit of luxury goods, conspicuous consumption and identity by wealthy China people has become one of the driving forces of social development. It is the superstition that people respect conspicuous consumption, which coincides with the official standard thought in China's traditional culture, which makes the position of civil servant have a premium effect and attract Chinese people to chase it.

Where there is competition, there is pressure, and where there is competition, there is development. The more people want to be "officials" and the more people apply for civil servants, it is natural to choose the best among the best, and the result will inevitably improve the overall level and sense of urgency of civil servants. In the long run, it will inevitably promote the rapid development of the whole social economy.

However, in the face of the numerous employment opportunities created by the socialist market economy, so many outstanding talents are keen on being "officials", and the number of applicants is even hotter than that in some places, which cannot but cause some doubts and concerns.

Although the relevant state departments have given reasonable explanations for this situation, such as the increase in the number of planned posts, the decrease in qualifications and identity restrictions, the improvement of openness and transparency, and the enhancement of the attractiveness of the posts themselves, many doubts can be dispelled, but they cannot be completely eliminated. For example, many people would rather give up the high salary of their existing jobs than pay a relatively low salary for civil servants. The proportion of "officials" (personnel departments) who apply for "officials" is much higher than other "officials", and so on.

A reasonable explanation for the problem that high salary means low salary is that the national personnel system is standardized, safe and predictable, thus enhancing its attractiveness. However, the problem reflected from this is that the personnel system management of enterprises is not standardized, and the safety and predictability are poor.

The "officials" who are keen on managing "officials" cannot be summarized by safety and predictability. Because, although the "official" in charge of the "official" itself is only a requirement of professional skills, such a huge gap between supply and demand reflects the different expectations of people who are keen on managing the "official" to some extent. From an economic point of view, the legal authorization of "official" post means the existence of power rent-seeking space, and the expectation and pursuit of power rent-seeking is power rent-seeking, and the result of rent-seeking is naturally the emergence of corruption. Therefore, the enthusiasm for the position of "official" and even the enthusiasm for "official" itself reflects the expectation of power rent-seeking to some extent, which is naturally unwilling to be seen by ordinary people.

From the popularity of civil service examination registration to conspicuous consumption such as sky-high moon cakes and sky-high weddings, this "aristocratic complex" can indeed bring wealth to the society, but the comparison psychology brought by conspicuous consumption will destroy the rationality of consumers and change the rational allocation of some social resources to a certain extent. As far as the allocation of human resources is concerned, the excessive inclination of civil servants will inevitably lead to insufficient allocation of human resources in other positions. Therefore, just as the consumption of luxury goods exceeds a certain level, it will go to waste and the opposite of respect. Excessive pursuit of civil servant positions may also have a negative impact on social development.

Although luxury goods are excellent anti-poverty weapons, if they are used unchecked, they may eventually hit the users themselves like flying weapons.