Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit, Ashley Mears (Princeton University Press, 2021). The following is an email exchange between John Psmith and Gabriel Rossman, Professor of Sociology at UCLA, edited slightly for clarity.
I love these ethnographic studies like Hoang's that explore business practices. It reminds me of something Scott Alexander once wrote:
> Whenever I read a book by anyone other than David Friedman about a foreign culture, it sounds like “The X’wunda give their mother-in-law three cows every monsoon season, then pluck out their own eyes as a sacrifice to Humunga, the Volcano God”.
> And whenever I read David Friedman, it sounds like “The X’wunda ensure positive-sum intergenerational trade by a market system in which everyone pays the efficient price for continued economic relationships with their spouse’s clan; they demonstrate their honesty with a costly signal of self-mutilation that creates common knowledge of belief in a faith whose priests are able to arbitrate financial disputes.”
The part about the uniformity of the ritual is really interesting and reminds me of Weil's aphorism: “Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.”
Has anyone talked to one of the "rich guys" and asked them why they spend money on expensive champagne and models they won't sleep with? It would be interesting to get some knowledge from the horse's own mouth.
What do rich chicks do instead? Shopping and designer brands?
Great review. Unrelated, but I hope one of you (or both of you, separately or together) are entering this year's ACX book review contest. I think you'd have a great chance to finish in the top 10 and bring a lot of attention to this amazing blog.
When I see people richer than me having fun in ways that I can't afford, there's definitely a temptation to declare the grapes sour. Those people aren't really having fun, they're just signalling! What an interesting social phenomenon! Let me analyse it and point out why it's actually not fun!
I shouldn't lie to myself though. Those grapes look sweet. I _would_ like to party at nightclubs drinking $500 bottles of whisky marked up to $5000, surrounded by beautiful women vying for my attention. That actually sounds really good.
I used to suspect that if I ever became rich I would understand why they hate taxes, and see the benefits of elite entertainments.
Welp, I became fairly rich by reasonable standards, and spend my time with other, even richer people, and all I can say is: get out the guillotines and 90% marginal tax rates please.
I totally understand why people hate taxes. But I don’t only think of myself, so when I see a societal benefit, I’m happy for the other folks who benefit even if I don’t.
Uh, the description of potlatch here leaves much to be desired. And its suppression by the authorities wasn’t “mean” so much as a form of enclosure ensuring that the indigenous peoples would no longer have an alternative socioeconomic arrangement to escape their exploitation in the approved market economy.
There is much to discuss here, although I don't think I followed all of the reasoning. I'll go over it again, but in the meantime I have a question and a comment. 1. What the hell is "bottles and models"? If I understand your description correctly, it sounds like an upscale "Hooters." Why would any decent male consider that fun? There are always jerks at every income level. 2. When I lived in NYC, I sometimes ate breakfast at the same diner as Christy Turlington. I defy anyone to say that she was not one of the most beautiful human beings who ever walked the earth. Not only that, but she was even more radiant without makeup and seemed like a delightful person: she always made a fuss over my young daughter. Alas, she never invited me to sleep with her (I'm sure she wanted to but restrained herself because of my wedding ring.) I would have been tempted. One point you did not make about models is that many are children. I suspect that is the real reason why many men find them unattractive.
Hi thanks for checking in. No, the diner was in the West Village (it was actually affordable back then. I think the name was the "Trolley Stop." It was on like Bethune and Hudson.
I love these ethnographic studies like Hoang's that explore business practices. It reminds me of something Scott Alexander once wrote:
> Whenever I read a book by anyone other than David Friedman about a foreign culture, it sounds like “The X’wunda give their mother-in-law three cows every monsoon season, then pluck out their own eyes as a sacrifice to Humunga, the Volcano God”.
> And whenever I read David Friedman, it sounds like “The X’wunda ensure positive-sum intergenerational trade by a market system in which everyone pays the efficient price for continued economic relationships with their spouse’s clan; they demonstrate their honesty with a costly signal of self-mutilation that creates common knowledge of belief in a faith whose priests are able to arbitrate financial disputes.”
The part about the uniformity of the ritual is really interesting and reminds me of Weil's aphorism: “Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.”
Has anyone talked to one of the "rich guys" and asked them why they spend money on expensive champagne and models they won't sleep with? It would be interesting to get some knowledge from the horse's own mouth.
What do rich chicks do instead? Shopping and designer brands?
Brilliant analysis!
Great review. Unrelated, but I hope one of you (or both of you, separately or together) are entering this year's ACX book review contest. I think you'd have a great chance to finish in the top 10 and bring a lot of attention to this amazing blog.
When I see people richer than me having fun in ways that I can't afford, there's definitely a temptation to declare the grapes sour. Those people aren't really having fun, they're just signalling! What an interesting social phenomenon! Let me analyse it and point out why it's actually not fun!
I shouldn't lie to myself though. Those grapes look sweet. I _would_ like to party at nightclubs drinking $500 bottles of whisky marked up to $5000, surrounded by beautiful women vying for my attention. That actually sounds really good.
Fantastic review. Tyler Cowen had Mears on his podcast before this book came out. I remember it being really interesting. https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ashley-mears/
1. Fascinating
2. I had no idea
3. I’m a live and let live kinda guy, so I’m tolerant of this excess
4. Boy are they the poster child for “when the revolution comes…” — real Versailles vibes
I used to suspect that if I ever became rich I would understand why they hate taxes, and see the benefits of elite entertainments.
Welp, I became fairly rich by reasonable standards, and spend my time with other, even richer people, and all I can say is: get out the guillotines and 90% marginal tax rates please.
I totally understand why people hate taxes. But I don’t only think of myself, so when I see a societal benefit, I’m happy for the other folks who benefit even if I don’t.
Uh, the description of potlatch here leaves much to be desired. And its suppression by the authorities wasn’t “mean” so much as a form of enclosure ensuring that the indigenous peoples would no longer have an alternative socioeconomic arrangement to escape their exploitation in the approved market economy.
There is much to discuss here, although I don't think I followed all of the reasoning. I'll go over it again, but in the meantime I have a question and a comment. 1. What the hell is "bottles and models"? If I understand your description correctly, it sounds like an upscale "Hooters." Why would any decent male consider that fun? There are always jerks at every income level. 2. When I lived in NYC, I sometimes ate breakfast at the same diner as Christy Turlington. I defy anyone to say that she was not one of the most beautiful human beings who ever walked the earth. Not only that, but she was even more radiant without makeup and seemed like a delightful person: she always made a fuss over my young daughter. Alas, she never invited me to sleep with her (I'm sure she wanted to but restrained herself because of my wedding ring.) I would have been tempted. One point you did not make about models is that many are children. I suspect that is the real reason why many men find them unattractive.
I can't help but ask if this diner was the one on West Broadway in Tribeca next to the parking lot just off Worth St ...
Hi thanks for checking in. No, the diner was in the West Village (it was actually affordable back then. I think the name was the "Trolley Stop." It was on like Bethune and Hudson.