Sociology 330: Week 6

What is consistent with Veblen's arguments about leisure and conspicuous consumption?

-As its importance as a means of obtaining social status increases, conspicuous consumption prevents growing numbers of people from accumulating wealth. -Conspicuous consumption takes on increasing importance as societies become more urbanized and mobility increases. -Conspicuous consumption takes on increasing importance as societies become more urbanized and mobility increases.

The heirloom tomato provides a particularly clear illustration of?

-How exclusive capacities for recognizing the desirable qualities of specific types of objects overlap with class position and serve as techniques of distinction -How the symbolic value of certain forms of consumption varies over time and across different kinds of settings

What is an example of cultural capital?

-The ability to offer a sophisticated critique of an opera performance -An informed opinion about whether Yale or Harvard has a better graduate program in sociology

What played a role in the emergence of heirloom tomatoes as a status symbol?

-Upscale supermarkets like Whole Foods, -Zabar's and Dean & Deluca farmers' markets -Trendsetting chefs in urban restaurants

What is not consistent with Veblen's arguments about leisure and conspicuous consumption?

Conspicuous consumption refers to behaviors engaged in by only the wealthiest members of a given society.

According to Jordan, rural seedsaving enthusiasts and patrons of upscale urban restaurants attribute much the same meaning to heirloom tomatoes.

False

According to Veblen, conspicuous consumption is among the weapons the upper class uses to prevail in class struggle.

False

In the film clip, "The Trouble with Tofu," a group of low-income residents organizes against the construction of a new grocery store to be operated by Shaw's, an upscale grocery chain.

False

What did Veblen describe as a likely consequence of conspicuous consumption in mobile, urban societies?

Members of the lower classes would spend excessively on conspicuous consumption, preventing them from accumulating wealth.

According to the film, People Like Us, families with higher incomes typically eat less white bread than poor families.

True

The number of articles about heirloom tomatoes in the New York Times and the San Franscico Chronicle increased rapidly after the mid 1990s.

True

What is not an example of cultural capital?

owning a stock portfolio