its fascinating, to think that luxury brands even exist. i mean when it comes down to it - what difference does make if you get a steak at a high tier restaurant or at a low tier one. a luxury car instead of an old beater, used clothes vs new clothes. at the end of the day, does it really matter?
if you do a cost-benefit analysis for things you buy. most of the stuff you get is not worth the workhours you put in.
your free time is what allows you to enjoy these things
Status competition. An absurdly high percentage of consumer spending is explained by the need to signal our status, and brand-name items tap into that narcissism. The need to "keep up with the joneses" fuels 70% of the economy of advanced nations. Below I will discuss status competition/signalling through the iphone.
The iphone was released in 2007. Though it was at the time a unique device, possessing one soon became a way to stand-out and be trendy, and Apple as a corporation perfectly understood this. The wealthy and the well-off could easily afford such a device, but I'd argue that most middle and working class people who rushed to buy the device were better off putting the money into their saving accounts for their retirements.Having an iphone became a signal of your status and it soon became socially understood that only the un-hip and the utterly destitute couldn't possess a smartphone.
The only way to keep being trendy was to keep buying the latest, most bestest iphone, and so every year since 2007 we've been witness to the spectacle of the hordes rushing to unnecessarily upgrade their iphones, because possessing the latest model does to this day confers status or cool points or whatever. Basically the same principle is strongly involved in people's purchase habits in regards to things like vehicles, furniture, purses, clothing, vacations, dining out, etc. Yes, there's perhaps pleasure to be had in going out to eat at the new Ethiopian restaurant across the street, but then there's also the added benefit of boasting to your acquaintances "that new Ethiopian restaurant is great...I recommended it!" (translation: "I have more novel experiences than you.")
It isn't easy to escape from this. For example, there are people who go around calling themselves "minimalists" who simply aren't into possessions. They will let you know they are minimalist! But again, look beneath the surface and you'll realize they too are engaged in status competition -- they want status/cool points for their moral preening. In fact, most "minimalists" are just rich people who can pretend they don't need stuff because they can, in fact, buy whatever they want should a need or desire arise.
