Reconciling the Public & Private Self Part II: Middle Class Concerns

Prompt No. 38: Topiaries and Tadao Ando

Editorial Note: Friends, I will be taking a two-week break from A Sunday Journal to complete another writing project. Posts will resume on the first Sunday of July. Thank you for your understanding and have a great rest of your June!

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From the Plain Goods Spring/Sumer 2024 Campaign

Shortly after posting the last edition I realized I would have to write a follow-up. It felt overly critical to point out how status emulation and status discordance show up in those seeking higher social position without addressing how emulation occurs amongst those who are status congruent, as well. The best example of this is our old friend Good Taste™ [1].  Although determined by the elite, Good Taste is learned and employed by the professional class. When applied, it helps define, and theoretically elevate, those individuals from the masses. As W. David Marx put it:

“As The Bluffer’s Guide to British Class jokes, ‘Taste is entirely a Middle Class concern. The Lower Class don’t have it and the Upper Class don’t need it.’ The professional classes compete through consumer choice because cultural capital—the knowledge of specific conventions—can get them further ahead in the world than any future chance at giant fortunes. By competing on taste, they can best rivals in their own ranks, impress Old Money, and embarrass New Money.”