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Even if one accepts that the attidudes of consumers in the eighteenth century were not

identical to those of Third World peasants, it is still highly important to distinguish, as Eric

Jones does, between the presence in a population of a new ability to buy inessentials and a

new willingness to do so, and hence to explain how traditional attitudes are overcome. p .

!"#

$ecogni%ing that the solution to the problem of accoutnting for increased demantd cannot be

found in a consideration of either numbers or speninding power alone, economic historians

have been forced to accept that the answer must be sought in some change in those values

and attitudes wich govern consumption. &ncreasingly, therefore, one finds reerences to the

crudcial part played by a new moral attitude towards consumer spending or to an important

change in the attitude of mindtoward buying, whilst Jones emphasi%es the factors of taste

and fashion. p. !"#

'lthough (eblens theoretical insights are here employed, as so often by economist and

economic historians, without any discusiion of their limitations, the most obvious critiscism f

the emulative theory of consumption as an answer to the problem of the origin of the

increased eighteenth)century demand for gooeds does occur to *c+endric, who states it

thus-

ne of the weanesses, however, in arguments drawing attention to the domestic servant

class, or the role of /onden, or the character, structure and mobility of English society as

explanations of increasing home demand and risign levels of spending is that critics can

promptly point out that none of them were new to the eighteenthe century. 0ervants

mimicing their masters are an age)old phenomenon, one ran in society being eager to 1oin

a higher group is 1ust as old, and /ondon as a centre of consipicuious consumtion was by no

means new.

2is response to this seeriuos ob1ection is to point tot the development at this time of a new,

commercial capacity and thechni3uesin the spehers of mareting and distribution and, in

particular, to the rise of advertinsing,. These events, he suggests, constituted the crucial

innovations for-

The long)felt desire of so many members of English society to ape their superiors had to be

given a fresh impetus to do so, a new spending ability to enable them to do so, and easier

acces to a greater variety of amply available new commoidities which silful sales promotion

could mae fashionably desirable, heavy advertisement could mae widely nown, and

whole batteries of salesmen could mae easily available.

Wele waarden benadrut worden, staat niet vast. *aar waarden, in abstracte vorm,

wisselen elaar oo niet af. 0chiller stofdrift vormdrift, +ant, 4reud, ieregaard, 2ui%ingas

homo ludens, Joc 5oung. 6eter 0loterdi1 thymos. (erlichting is een poging om met de%e

spanning om te gaan. Waarden %i1n nooit enelvoudig. 2aar tegengestelde is nooit afwe%ig.

7oeen in !" eeuw ge%elen door vrouwen. $omantische liefde. 8een fundamentele

verandering.

9iet hoe oude waarden vervangen werden door nieuwe. $ighart.

6rotestant ethic- behoeden tegen de mogeli1heid van ongeremde consumptie:

+i1en hoe en waarom de houding tegenover de%e waarden verandert.

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'nti)autoriteit moreel gerechtvaardigd. 'uthenticiteit, anticonformisme moreel

gerechtvaardigd.

Traditionele samenlevingen ontwieling %ich niet tot moderne samenlevingen, en dit gebeurt

niet door uitvinding van nieuwe waarden. 'lleen de manier waarop men omgaat met de

spanning van waarden die tegengesteld %i1n.

&t does seem that explanations of the consumer revolution all involve fundamental changes in

beliefs, values and attitudes p. ;"#

0ommige elites tegen, sommigen voor. 'lti1d an men relateren.

8een intellectuele rechtvaardiging en dan consumptie.

&t is clear that such intellectual defences of the freedom to produce and distibute luxury

goods should not be confused with the moral legitimation of their consumption. ne may wel

support the former especially if you ar yourself a merchant who profits from the trade in

luxury goods# without in the least approving of this form of conduct. The practice of a

personal ascetiscism is thus not incompatibale with tecofnition of the general utility of luxury

consumption. p. were these indeed no more than traditional

aristocratic onse, newly adopted by those beneath them in social status, or were they

perhaps novel values, expressive of the ethos of a social group shich had gained power and

influence for the first time? p.