Conspicuous consumption as routine expenditure and its place in the social provisioning process

Abstract

The article utilizes the framework of social provisioning to argue that conspicuous consumption is an essential process of capitalism, and should be explored as a routine practice rather than an exceptional behavior. The objectives are: 1) to discuss conspicuous consumption as a process within a heterodox social provisioning framework; and 2) to emphasize the need for formulating theoretical concepts and discussions that are consistent with heterodox frameworks such as social provisioning. © 2013 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.