Secret of Our Success

AMERICAN society has an obsession with "things," and the more expensive they are, the better. In the 1980 s status symbols have been in vogue like never before, and the prices of perennial favorites--cars, clothes, boats, and penthouse apartments--have been setting phenomenal new records.

Those of us who don't buy into the widespread notion that intrinsic value is proportional to cost expected some relief from this decade's shopping spree after the stock market crashed last October. Perhaps now, we thought, the noveau riche investment bankers who have chased the "finer things in life" so vigorously will be forced to take a break. Maybe the heyday of Robyn Leach's pseudo-documentary Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, as well as all those economically patronizing advertisements, is finally over.

Even economic observers agreed that the boom in upscale business--for items like Southampton beach estates, Porsches, and $1000 silk business suits--would soon reverse itself. People would invest more cautiously, and live more modest lives. Values would change. Fewer would be able to afford extravagance for its own sake.

But the sobering moments of the Wall Street crash appear to have been short-lived. An article in yesterday's New York Times finds that the reported demise of the luxury merchants was highly exaggerated. In fact, it seems there has been an upswing in luxury sales on an even greater scale than before the crash.

"The October crash brought a lot of people our way," one classic car company owner in Arizona told the Times. "Our sales jumped by more than $14 million in 1988. We've never had that kind of jump before," added the owner, whose cars sell for more than $150,000 each.

Not only are the numbers themselves staggering, but the implications are fairly devastating to any hope of living in a less materially-oriented country.

The roots of this materialism seem to lie in Western society's tendency to place value in linear progress--the further away you get from your starting point, the better you have done. This culture's predominant ethic dictates that the acquisition of "more"--more money, more material goods, more power than others have--is the only acceptable goal of life. The now-famous saying, "The one who dies with the most possessions, wins," reflects the concept that tangible wealth is the standard on which success should be measured.

This has created a "cult of money," comprised of both those who have it and those who want it. It has been well documented that T.V. shows such as Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Dynasty are popular because they cater to the fantasies of a growing class of jet-set-wanna-bes. The immediate rewards of investment banking have made it the career of choice for college graduates concerned only about "the good life."

The fact is that the crash of the stock market did not change people's desire to be rich or their belief that money brings happiness. What the expanded indulgence in luxury goods indicates is that the financial shock only reduced confidence in the paper money of Wall Street and increased society's faith in tangible items, especially as an indication of social status. The value of a Rolls Royce doesn't fluctuate when stock values flash on a computer screen--and you can always drive it.

Many stockholders lost a great deal of money in October's financial disaster, but not everyone went bankrupt and few intend to advertise their losses by changing their lifestyles. They learned that there are better ways to protect earnings than a stock portfolio--precious metals don't disintegrate or disappear like paper profits. Real estate from Manhattan to Malibu will become the most popular goods on the market.

All this means that we can expect our culture to become ever more motivated by social competition. Certain types of goods will slip even further out of read of the middle classes. And this cycle will feed on itself--particular brands will take on even greater importance. And even another economic disaster probably won't be able to convince us that there are other things of value in life besides money.