Instrictaccuracynothingshouldbeincludedundertheheadofconspicuouswastebutsuchexpenditureasisincurredonthegroundofaninvidiouspecuniarycomparison。Butinordertobringanygivenitemorelementinunderthisheaditisnotnecessarythatitshouldberecognizedaswasteinthissensebythepersonincurringtheexpenditure。Itfrequentlyhappensthatanelementofthestandardoflivingwhichsetoutwithbeingprimarilywasteful，endswithbecoming，intheapprehensionoftheconsumer，anecessaryoflife；anditmayinthiswaybecomeasindispensableasanyotheritemoftheconsumer’shabitualexpenditure。Asitemswhichsometimesfallunderthishead，andarethereforeavailableasillustrationsofthemannerinwhichthisprincipleapplies，maybecitedcarpetsandtapestries，silvertableservice，waiter’sservices，silkhats，starchedlinen，manyarticlesofjewelryandofdress。Theindispensabilityofthesethingsafterthehabitandtheconventionhavebeenformed，however，haslittletosayintheclassificationofexpendituresaswasteornotwasteinthetechnicalmeaningoftheword。ThetesttowhichallexpendituremustbebroughtinanattempttodecidethatpointisthequestiOnwhetheritservesdirectlytoenhancehumanlifeonthewhole-whetheritfurthersthelifeprocesstakenimpersonally。
　　Forthisisthebasisofawardoftheinstinctofworkmanship，andthatinstinctisthecourtoffinalappealinanyquestionofeconomictruthoradequacy。Itisaquestionastotheawardrenderedbyadispassionatecommonsense。Thequestionis，therefore，notwhether，undertheexistingcircumstancesofindividualhabitandsocialcustom，agivenexpenditureconducestotheparticularconsumer’sgratificationorpeaceofmind；butwhether，asidefromacquiredtastesandfromthecanonsofusageandconventionaldecency，itsresultisanetgainincomfortorinthefullnessoflife。Customaryexpendituremustbeclassedundertheheadofwasteinsofarasthecustomonwhichitrestsistraceabletothehabitofmakinganinvidiouspecuniarycomparison-insofarasitisconceivedthatitcouldnothavebecomecustomaryandprescriptivewithoutthebackingofthisprincipleofpecuniaryreputabilityorrelativeeconomicsuccess。
　　Itisobviouslynotnecessarythatagivenobjectofexpenditureshouldbeexclusivelywastefulinordertocomeinunderthecategoryofconspicuouswaste。Anarticlemaybeusefulandwastefulboth，auditsutilitytotheconsumermaybemadeupofuseandwasteinthemostvaryingproportions。Consumablegoods，andevenproductivegoods，generallyshowthetwoelementsincombination，asconstituentsoftheirutility；although，inageneralway，theelementofwastetendstopredominateinarticlesofconsumption，whilethecontraryistrueofarticlesdesignedforproductiveuse。Eveninarticleswhichappearatfirstglancetoserveforpureostentationonly，itisalwayspossibletodetectthepresenceofsome，atleastostensible，usefulpurpose；andontheotherhand，eveninspecialmachineryandtoolscontrivedforsomeparticularindustrialprocess，aswellasintherudestappliancesofhumanindustry，thetracesofconspicuouswaste，oratleastofthehabitofostentation，usuallybecomeevidentonaclosescrutiny。Itwouldbehazardoustoassertthatausefulpurposeiseverabsentfromtheutilityofanyarticleorofanyservice，howeverobviouslyitsprimepurposeandchiefelementisconspicuouswaste；anditwouldbeonlylesshazardoustoassertofanyprimarilyusefulproductthattheelementofwasteisinnowayconcernedinitsvalue，immediatelyorremotely。
　　Chapter5
　　ThePecuniaryStandardofLivingForthegreatbodyofthepeopleinanymoderncommunity，theproximategroundofexpenditureinexcessofwhatisrequiredforphysicalcomfortisnotaconsciousefforttoexcelintheexpensivenessoftheirvisibleconsumption，somuchasitisadesiretoliveuptotheconventionalstandardofdecencyintheamountandgradeofgoodsconsumed。Thisdesireisnotguidedbyarigidlyinvariablestandard，whichmustbelivedupto，andbeyondwhichthereisnoincentivetogo。Thestandardisflexible；andespeciallyitisindefinitelyextensible，ifonlytimeisallowedforhabituationtoanyincreaseinpecuniaryabilityandforacquiringfacilityinthenewandlargerscaleofexpenditurethatfollowssuchanincrease。Itismuchmoredifficulttorecedefromascaleofexpenditureonceadoptedthanitistoextendtheaccustomedscaleinresponsetoanaccessionofwealth。Manyitemsofcustomaryexpenditureproveonanalysistobealmostpurelywasteful，andtheyarethereforehonorificonly，butaftertheyhaveoncebeenincorporatedintothescaleofdecentconsumption，andsohavebecomeanintegralpartofone’sschemeoflife，itisquiteashardtogiveuptheseasitistogiveupmanyitemsthatconducedirectlytoone’sphysicaL
　　comfort，oreventhatmaybenecessarytolifeandhealth。Thatistosay，theconspicuouslywastefulhonorificexpenditurethatconfersspiritualwell-beingmaybecomemoreindispensablethanmuchofthatexpenditurewhichministerstothe“lower“wantsofphysicalwell-beingorsustenanceonly。Itisnotoriouslyjustasdifficulttorecedefroma“high“standardoflivingasitistolowerastandardwhichisalreadyrelativelylow；althoughintheformercasethedifficultyisamoralone，whileinthelatteritmayinvolveamaterialdeductionfromthephysicalcomfortsoflife。
　　Butwhileretrogressionisdifficult，afreshadvanceinconspicuousexpenditureisrelativelyeasy；indeed，ittakesplacealmostasamatterofcourse。Intherarecaseswhereitoccurs，afailuretoincreaseone’svisibleconsumptionwhenthemeansforanincreaseareathandisfeltinpopularapprehensiontocallforexplanation，andunworthymotivesofmiserlinessareimputedtothosewhofallshortinthisrespect。Apromptresponsetothestimulus，ontheotherhand，isacceptedasthenormaleffect。Thissuggeststhatthestandardofexpenditurewhichcommonlyguidesoureffortsisnottheaverage，ordinaryexpenditurealreadyachieved；itisanidealofconsumptionthatliesjustbeyondourreach，ortoreachwhichrequiressomestrain。Themotiveisemulation——thestimulusofaninvidiouscomparisonwhichpromptsustooutdothosewithwhomweareinthehabitofclassingourselves。Substantiallythesamepropositionisexpressedinthecommonplaceremarkthateachclassenviesandemulatestheclassnextaboveitinthesocialscale，whileitrarelycomparesitselfwiththosebeloworwiththosewhoareconsiderablyinadvance。Thatistosay，inotherwords，ourstandardofdecencyinexpenditure，asinotherendsofemulation，issetbytheusageofthosenextaboveusinreputability；until，inthisway，especiallyinanycommunitywhereclassdistinctionsaresomewhatvague，allcanonsofreputabilityanddecency，andallstandardsofconsumption，aretracedbackbyinsensiblegradationstotheusagesandhabitsofthoughtofthehighestsocialandpecuniaryclass——thewealthyleisureclass。
　　Itisforthisclasstodetermine，ingeneraloutline，whatschemeofLifethecommunityshallacceptasdecentorhonorific；
　　anditistheirofficebypreceptandexampletosetforththisschemeofsocialsalvationinitshighest，idealform。Butthehigherleisureclasscanexercisethisquasi-sacerdotalofficeonlyundercertainmateriallimitations。Theclasscannotatdiscretioneffectasuddenrevolutionorreversalofthepopularhabitsofthoughtwithrespecttoanyoftheseceremonialrequirements。Ittakestimeforanychangetopermeatethemassandchangethehabitualattitudeofthepeople；andespeciallyittakestimetochangethehabitsofthoseclassesthataresociallymoreremotefromtheradiantbody。Theprocessisslowerwherethemobilityofthepopulationislessorwheretheintervalsbetweentheseveralclassesarewiderandmoreabrupt。
　　Butiftimebeallowed，thescopeofthediscretionoftheleisureclassasregardsquestionsofformanddetailinthecommunity’sschemeoflifeislarge；whileasregardsthesubstantialprinciplesofreputability，thechangeswhichitcaneffectliewithinanarrowmarginoftolerance。Itsexampleandpreceptcarriestheforceofprescriptionforallclassesbelowit；butinworkingoutthepreceptswhicharehandeddownasgoverningtheformandmethodofreputability——inshapingtheusagesandthespiritualattitudeofthelowerclasses——thisauthoritativeprescriptionconstantlyworksundertheselectiveguidanceofthecanonofconspicuouswaste，temperedinvaryingdegreebytheinstinctofworkmanship。Tothosenormsistobeaddedanotherbroadprincipleofhumannature——thepredatoryanimus——whichinpointofgeneralityandofpsychologicalcontentliesbetweenthetwojustnamed。Theeffectofthelatterinshapingtheacceptedschemeoflifeisyettobediscussed。
　　Thecanonofreputability，then，mustadaptitselftotheeconomiccircumstances，thetraditions，andthedegreeofspiritualmaturityoftheparticularclasswhoseschemeoflifeitistoregulate。Itisespeciallytobenotedthathoweverhighitsauthorityandhowevertruetothefundamentalrequirementsofreputabilityitmayhavebeenatitsinception，aspecificformalobservancecanundernocircumstancesmaintainitselfinforceifwiththelapseoftimeoronitstransmissiontoalowerpecuniaryclassitisfoundtoruncountertotheultimategroundofdecencyamongcivilizedpeoples，namely，serviceabilityforthepurposeofaninvidiouscomparisoninpecuniarysuccess。
　　Itisevidentthatthesecanonsofexpenditurehavemuchtosayindeterminingthestandardoflivingforanycommunityandforanyclass。Itisnolessevidentthatthestandardoflivingwhichprevailsatanytimeoratanygivensocialaltitudewillinitsturnhavemuchtosayastotheformswhichhonorificexpenditurewilltake，andastothedegreetowhichthis“higher“needwilldominateapeople’sconsumption。Inthisrespectthecontrolexertedbytheacceptedstandardoflivingischieflyofanegativecharacter；itactsalmostsolelytopreventrecessionfromascaleofconspicuousexpenditurethathasoncebecomehabitual。
　　Astandardoflivingisofthenatureofhabit。Itisanhabitualscaleandmethodofrespondingtogivenstimuli。Thedifficultyinthewayofrecedingfromanaccustomedstandardisthedifficultyofbreakingahabitthathasoncebeenformed。Therelativefacilitywithwhichanadvanceinthestandardismademeansthatthelifeprocessisaprocessofunfoldingactivityandthatitwillreadilyunfoldinanewdirectionwheneverandwherevertheresistancetoself-expressiondecreases。Butwhenthehabitofexpressionalongsuchagivenlineoflowresistancehasoncebeenformed，thedischargewillseektheaccustomedoutletevenafterachangehastakenplaceintheenvironmentwherebytheexternalresistancehasappreciablyrisen。Thatheightenedfacilityofexpressioninagivendirectionwhichiscalledhabitmayoffsetaconsiderableincreaseintheresistanceofferedbyexternalcircumstancestotheunfoldingoflifeinthegivendirection。Asbetweenthevarioushabits，orhabitualmodesanddirectionsofexpression，whichgotomakeupanindividual’sstandardofliving，thereisanappreciabledifferenceinpointofpersistenceundercounteractingcircumstancesandinpointofthedegreeofimperativenesswithwhichthedischargeseeksagivendirection。
　　Thatistosay，inthelanguageofcurrenteconomictheory，whilemenarereluctanttoretrenchtheirexpendituresinanydirection，theyaremorereluctanttoretrenchinsomedirectionsthaninothers；sothatwhileanyaccustomedconsumptionisreluctantlygivenup，therearecertainlinesofconsumptionwhicharegivenupwithrelativelyextremereluctance。Thearticlesorformsofconsumptiontowhichtheconsumerclingswiththegreatesttenacityarecommonlytheso-callednecessariesoflife，orthesubsistenceminimum。Thesubsistenceminimumisofcoursenotarigidlydeterminedallowanceofgoods，definiteandinvariableinkindandquantity；butforthepurposeinhanditmaybetakentocompriseacertain，moreorlessdefinite，aggregateofconsumptionrequiredforthemaintenanceoflife。
　　Thisminimum，itmaybeassumed，isordinarilygivenuplastincaseofaprogressiveretrenchmentofexpenditure。Thatistosay，inageneralway，themostancientandingrainedofthehabitswhichgoverntheindividual’slife——thosehabitsthattouchhisexistenceasanorganism——arethemostpersistentandimperative。Beyondthesecomethehigherwants——later-formedhabitsoftheindividualortherace——inasomewhatirregularandbynomeansinvariablegradation。Someofthesehigherwants，asforinstancethehabitualuseofcertainstimulants，ortheneedofsalvationintheeschatologicalsense，orofgoodrepute，mayinsomecasestakeprecedenceofthelowerormoreelementarywants。Ingeneral，thelongerthehabituation，themoreunbrokenthehabit，andthemorenearlyitcoincideswithprevioushabitualformsofthelifeprocess，themorepersistentlywillthegivenhabitassertitself。Thehabitwillbestrongeriftheparticulartraitsofhumannaturewhichitsactioninvolves，ortheparticularaptitudesthatfindexerciseinit，aretraitsoraptitudesthatarealreadylargelyandprofoundlyconcernedinthelifeprocessorthatareintimatelyboundupwiththelifehistoryoftheparticularracialstock。