Thursday, Jul 22 2004, 09:22:56 AM
The low cost of production in our society is making status symbols accessible to more consumers. Former status objects have become necessities. Is this the old communist dream of economical equality come true?

Thankfully, this is not the case. First of all, it was not redistribution of wealth that created the society we live in today. Secondly, we do not live in a society of economic equality rather; everybody’s standard of living has increased. As a Norwegian would put it; “When it rains on the pastor, it drips on the ringer”. The increased standard of living is a product of the capitalist machine. Better technology and distribution systems are driving down the cost of production. It gives us cheaper products and more customization. The limitation for growth that was a basic premise for socialist critique of capitalism never materialized. Thirdly, new status objects appear as soon as the old ones become attainable for regular folks. The price of customization and product development has decreased the lifespan of a product.

Status symbols are luxuries that are only available for a few in a society; this is implicit in the concept status symbol. But all luxuries are not status symbols and the primary function of luxuries is not symbolizing status although you will be hard pressed to find a social studies scholar that will agree with this. This idea is a product of the materialism in Marxist theory, his thought have infused most social and cultural studies in the Twentieth century. Possession of luxuries might have been the distinctions between the “have’s” and “have-not’s” before the post-industrial society, but the distinction was not the primary motive for acquiring them.

Acquiring beautiful and functional objects used to be a luxury for most families in pre-industrial society. The expertly crafted artifacts where costly to produce, they where expected to last a family for generations. The wear and history of such an object increased the personal valuation of the object, and in today’s market place this meaning has become a commodity in and of itself. Bankrupt noble houses in Europe manage to maintain their property by making the meaning and use of the property public.

Modern artifacts are cheaper to produce. This also makes it easier to retire them when they are no longer stylish and functional. It is no longer the object in and of itself that is valued; it is their style and their function. Electronic gadgets are the extreme symbol of this. The new PDA-phone has a camera and higher screen resolution, which are good arguments for discarding a perfectly functional PDA-phone that is only two years old. There is a new minidisk player that has a higher file compression that gives you 5 times the music on one disc is a reasonable argument for replacing the one you bought last year. Nobody is going to think you are wasteful for buying the more expensive computer because it was white and fit better into your home d