The Decline and Fall of the Status Symbol: Some Thoughts on Status in a Post-Industrial Society

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Abstract
One characteristic of so-called post-industrial societies is the decline of material scarcity. Although great inequalities of wealth and income persist in American society, since World War II there has been a secular decline of poverty and an increase in material abundance. If this continues, it will ultimately destroy the customary status symbols of American society because such symbols—to be operative—must be scarce as well as desirable. Paradoxically, as abundance increases, the social importance of material things may diminish; thus, as American society becomes more materialistic, it may very well become less materialistic. Besides affluence, other developments are undermining the strength of conventional status symbols: social-class passing, status disguises, the environmental movement, and more. The usefulness of the concept of status itself in an urban setting must be called into question, as well as the so-called “trickle effect” in fashion. Finally, arguing that status symbols may be altered but never abolished, this analysis offers some hypotheses on the direction such symbols may take in the future.

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