The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
(Author)
Description
In today's world, the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly buy organic, carry canvas tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet, inconspicuous consumption--like eating free-range chicken and heirloom tomatoes, wearing organic cotton shirts and TOMS shoes, and listening to the latest podcast. They use their purchasing power to hire nannies and housekeepers, to cultivate their children's growth, and to practice yoga and Pilates. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett dubs this new elite "the aspirational class" and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, they reproduce wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide. With a rich narrative and extensive interviews and research, The Sum of Small Things illustrates how cultural capital leads to lifestyle shifts and examines what these changes will mean for everyone.Product Details
Price
$17.95
$16.69
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Publish Date
October 23, 2018
Pages
272
Dimensions
5.2 X 7.9 X 0.9 inches | 0.5 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780691183176
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About the Author
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett is the James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning and professor of public policy at the University of Southern California.
Reviews
"A remarkably fine-grained portrait of how the spending habits of Americans have evolved over the decades."--The Economist
"The aspirational class gets a kick in the quinoa courtesy of Elizabeth Currid-Halkett's The Sum of Small Things."--Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair
"[A] thorough book.... Currid-Halkett argues that the educated class establishes class barriers not through material consumption and wealth display but by establishing practices that can be accessed only by those who possess rarefied information."--David Brooks, New York Times
"Currid-Halkett's biting, often humorous commentary is not just a send up of the so-called 'coastal elites.' It's a trenchant analysis that combines economic and sociological evidence to describe major trends."--Dan Kopf, Quartz
"One of the Economist.com "Wise Words 2017 Books of the Year" in Culture"
"The aspirational class gets a kick in the quinoa courtesy of Elizabeth Currid-Halkett's The Sum of Small Things."--Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair
"[A] thorough book.... Currid-Halkett argues that the educated class establishes class barriers not through material consumption and wealth display but by establishing practices that can be accessed only by those who possess rarefied information."--David Brooks, New York Times
"Currid-Halkett's biting, often humorous commentary is not just a send up of the so-called 'coastal elites.' It's a trenchant analysis that combines economic and sociological evidence to describe major trends."--Dan Kopf, Quartz
"One of the Economist.com "Wise Words 2017 Books of the Year" in Culture"
