Selfishness, Greed and Capitalism

THERE IS A PARADOX OF PROSPERITYtown has a strong, if usually unstated, social norm againstconspicuous consumption … At that time, a red Porscheconvertible really would have been seen as an in-your-facecar in a community like ours’ (ibid.: 168). Fearful of a negativereaction, he drove a more modest vehicle around campusuntil the mid 1990s, when he purchased a BMW. Eventhen, he worried that people would assume that he hadbought the car as a status symbol rather than as a speedyand reliable automobile. ‘To be sure,’ he writes, ‘I would bemore comfortable if others knew that I bought the car notto flaunt my economic good fortune but for other, morepractical reasons … the BMW accelerates more briskly,handles more surely, brakes more swiftly, and gets muchbetter ratings in crash tests. After comparison test drives,I instantly realized that the only reason for not buyingthe BMW was my apprehension about what others mightthink’ (ibid.: 203).Compared to his British counterparts, who argue thatDVD players and new sofas are unnecessary luxuries(James 2007: 237), Frank is an unlikely anti-consumerist.As an example of frivolous, uninformed and unnecessaryluxury spending, he cites the Ferrari 456 GT, then on saleat $207,000, which was attracting the attention of thewealthy status seeker in the late 1990s. In Frank’s opinion,it is an inferior vehicle to the Porsche 911 Turbo whichcosts half the price. Because the Porsche is ‘even fasterthan the Ferrari’ and ‘more surefooted’ (Frank 1999: 218),Frank argues that the appeal of the Ferrari lies only in itshigher price and relative scarcity. In his view, those whobuy it are irrational consumers flashing their wealth and111