Editing Conspicuous consumption (section)

{{short description|Concept in sociology and economy}}
[[File:Veblen3a.jpg|thumb|right|The sociologist and economist [[Thorstein Veblen]] coined the term "conspicuous consumption", and was a pioneer of the [[institutional economics]] movement.]]
{{Anti-consumerism |Theories}}
In sociology and in economics, the term '''conspicuous consumption''' describes and explains the [[consumer]] practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, [[price]], or in greater quantity than practical.<ref>Phillips, Ronnie J.  2014 April 22. "[https://www.britannica.com/topic/conspicuous-consumption Conspicuous consumption]." ''Encyclopedia Britannica''.</ref> In 1899, the sociologist [[Thorstein Veblen]] coined the term ''conspicuous consumption'' to explain the spending of money on and the acquiring of [[Luxury good|luxury commodities]] (goods and services) specifically as a public display of [[economic power]]—the income and the [[capital accumulation|accumulated wealth]]—of the buyer. To the conspicuous consumer, the public display of [[discretionary income]] is an economic means of either attaining or maintaining a given [[social status]].<ref name="Veblen 1899">{{cite book |last=Veblen |first=Thorstein |title=The Theory of the Leisure Class |url=https://archive.org/details/theoryoftheleisu00833gut |publisher=Project Gutenberg |year=1899}}</ref><ref>''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'', Third Edition, Alan Bullock, Stephen Trombley, Eds., 1993, p. 162.</ref>

The development of Veblen's sociology of conspicuous consumption also identified and described other economic behaviours such as '''invidious consumption''', which is the ostentatious consumption of goods, an action meant to provoke the [[envy]] of other people; and '''conspicuous compassion''', the ostentatious use of [[Charity (practice)|charity]] meant to enhance the [[reputation]] and social prestige of the donor;<ref name="West 2004">{{cite book |last=West |first=Patrick |title=Conspicuous Compassion: Why Sometimes It Really Is Cruel To Be Kind |location=London |publisher=Civitas, Institute for the Study of Civil Society |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-903386-34-7 }}</ref> thus the socio-economic practices of [[consumerism]] derive from conspicuous consumption.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Kenton|first=Will|title=Conspicuous Consumption|url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conspicuous-consumption.asp|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Investopedia|language=en}}</ref>