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I have a pet theory that all humans spend roughly 30% of their disposable income on status products. And that there's no way to escape this. No matter how hard

I have a pet theory that all humans spend roughly 30% of their disposable income on status products. And that there's no way to escape this. No matter how hard you try. If you escape spending at LVMH you'll spend it on cars, indie brands or ascetic holidays. Keep going and your money will go towards pseudo-educational leisure activities that make a social statement like submarine exploration or building web apps in Ocaml.

Beldin 3y ago
> I have a pet theory that all humans spend roughly 30% of their disposable income on status products. And that there's no way to escape this. No matter how hard you try. Are you serious? Because wow that's off by a few megaparsecs... A lot of people don't have enough disposable income to get them adequate amounts of food. Kids making toys out of garbage, just to have a toy. To share.
- ghufran_syed 3y ago
  Do you feel there's any difference between "income" and "disposable" income? I would take it to mean income after paying taxes, and paying for housing, food, clothing, what definition are you using? I suspect the parent comment is using a similar definition to mine
  - spacebanana7 3y ago
    Yeah my theory uses a definition of disposable income similar to what you’ve expressed.
- Grazester 3y ago
  The piece of shit car in my garage I wrench on every night as a hobby while my family is asleep is for status? I must be doing it wrong then...but you're right about the spending on it part.
hytdstd 3y ago
I'm no exception to your rule, but are you really so confident that all of humanity shares the same appetite for status signalling? I'm not a particularly social person, but even I can think of some counterexamples in my personal life. Obviously, we can also consider most of the extremely wealthy (Zuckerberg, Bezos, etc) as well.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  I want to object to what GP says, but whenever I think about it, I realize that I too am evidence in favor. Different methods, different groups. Some spending more of effort than money. Some substituting an idea for a group. But the need to belong somewhere - that is common to all.
- spacebanana7 3y ago
  I'm confident that all humans enjoy status. I suspect this is an innate characteristic of social creatures. Less than basic desires like food or reproduction but significant nevertheless. The hypothesis about status signalling is more difficult because many individuals acquire status by rejecting conventional status objects. Many people respect Socrates, AOC and Gandhi in large part because of their modest lifestyles. It's possible to describe their behaviour as buying status via the opportunity cost of other consumption, but I worry the opportunity cost approach makes my theory too overpowered to the point of being unfalsifiable.
- hospitalJail 3y ago
  My income has recently 5x'd and I already was making over 6 figs. I'm doing the opposite of status signaling. I'm hiding my wealth. I don't need people to know I just bought an expensive computer or 3D printer. Heck, that makes me a target. It also alienates friends who are insecure. I already ran into this when I graduated college, got a real job, and my blue collar high school friends got weird about it. Heck, I knew I was going to be very well off. When I had my home built, I made sure the front-most peak of the house was on the first floor rather than the second floor. I didn't want my home to appear grand.
  - MonaroVXR 3y ago
peteradio 3y ago
Is Lego a status product?
- spacebanana7 3y ago
  It depends on the social context. If your friends - or people you want to be friends with - hold it in high esteem then yeah. Also true if a lego is disliked by group of people you despise.
hospitalJail 3y ago
Uh... my retirement account? My status is being FIRE in my 30s. But probably not status related and more security related.
LoveMortuus 3y ago
I wonder what social status I'm gaining by eating rice and a can of fish per day, and every so often I splurge on maybe a sandwich or instant noodles. After which I'm out of disposable income... Your pet hypothesis, has yet to be confirmed only after that, will it be a theory.

Beldin 3y ago

> I have a pet theory that all humans spend roughly 30% of their disposable income on status products. And that there's no way to escape this. No matter how hard you try. Are you serious? Because wow that's off by a few megaparsecs... A lot of people don't have enough disposable income to get them adequate amounts of food. Kids making toys out of garbage, just to have a toy. To share.

ghufran_syed 3y ago
Do you feel there's any difference between "income" and "disposable" income? I would take it to mean income after paying taxes, and paying for housing, food, clothing, what definition are you using? I suspect the parent comment is using a similar definition to mine
- spacebanana7 3y ago
  Yeah my theory uses a definition of disposable income similar to what you’ve expressed.
Grazester 3y ago
The piece of shit car in my garage I wrench on every night as a hobby while my family is asleep is for status? I must be doing it wrong then...but you're right about the spending on it part.

hytdstd 3y ago

I'm no exception to your rule, but are you really so confident that all of humanity shares the same appetite for status signalling? I'm not a particularly social person, but even I can think of some counterexamples in my personal life. Obviously, we can also consider most of the extremely wealthy (Zuckerberg, Bezos, etc) as well.

TeMPOraL 3y ago
I want to object to what GP says, but whenever I think about it, I realize that I too am evidence in favor. Different methods, different groups. Some spending more of effort than money. Some substituting an idea for a group. But the need to belong somewhere - that is common to all.
spacebanana7 3y ago
I'm confident that all humans enjoy status. I suspect this is an innate characteristic of social creatures. Less than basic desires like food or reproduction but significant nevertheless. The hypothesis about status signalling is more difficult because many individuals acquire status by rejecting conventional status objects. Many people respect Socrates, AOC and Gandhi in large part because of their modest lifestyles. It's possible to describe their behaviour as buying status via the opportunity cost of other consumption, but I worry the opportunity cost approach makes my theory too overpowered to the point of being unfalsifiable.
hospitalJail 3y ago
My income has recently 5x'd and I already was making over 6 figs. I'm doing the opposite of status signaling. I'm hiding my wealth. I don't need people to know I just bought an expensive computer or 3D printer. Heck, that makes me a target. It also alienates friends who are insecure. I already ran into this when I graduated college, got a real job, and my blue collar high school friends got weird about it. Heck, I knew I was going to be very well off. When I had my home built, I made sure the front-most peak of the house was on the first floor rather than the second floor. I didn't want my home to appear grand.
- MonaroVXR 3y ago

peteradio 3y ago

Is Lego a status product?

spacebanana7 3y ago
It depends on the social context. If your friends - or people you want to be friends with - hold it in high esteem then yeah. Also true if a lego is disliked by group of people you despise.

hospitalJail 3y ago

Uh... my retirement account? My status is being FIRE in my 30s. But probably not status related and more security related.

LoveMortuus 3y ago

I wonder what social status I'm gaining by eating rice and a can of fish per day, and every so often I splurge on maybe a sandwich or instant noodles. After which I'm out of disposable income... Your pet hypothesis, has yet to be confirmed only after that, will it be a theory.