True, those absurd excesses of conspicuous consumption that do not simulate at least a soupcon of some plausibly life-improving property are seldom flaunted whe

True, those absurd excesses of conspicuous consumption that do not simulate at least a soupcon of some plausibly life-improving property are seldom flaunted where the other classes may observe, but privacy is itself now one of the essential privileges of the moneyed elite, protected by the same class barriers that lucre's natural owners erect to satisfy their disproportionate need for the life-improving mental feelings of safety and security (from those on the opposite side of the barriers). Any 21st century moralist who does not accept that they are wealthy only in proportion to the number of things that they can do without is a phony.