Possessions as Social Capital

[pcooley]

Wow, Who Ya Gonna Call in a situation like that?

With Egon Spengler recently laid to rest, is the team really even worth calling?

[dmc]

If someone rode a bike to an interview I would think that they had a drinking problem. I could care less about what kind of phone they had though.

And I would expect them to dress nice, I don't care what kind of job it is.

[pinkytoe]

If someone rode a bike to an interview I would think that they had a drinking problem.

We must live in different stratospheres. Here it would be completely acceptable as long as you didn't get all sweaty doing so.

[dmc]

We must live in different stratospheres. Here it would be completely acceptable as long as you didn't get all sweaty doing so.

I was in construction, I hired engineers. Rarely did anyone bike to work, not that it didn't happen on a nice day. Any other time someone didn't drive it was because they lost their license. Having a license was pretty much a requirement.

Also don't show up with tatoo's or piercings showing, unless your looking for a job as a laborer. First impressions matter.

[onlinemoniker]

pcooly--I agree with you. Possessions are social capital. I also think they have more impact on one's acceptance by peers the lower down the socio-educational ladder one is.

I don't have a smart phone or cable tv or even a tv. I am nearly 50 and I just bought the 3rd car I've ever owned the summer before last. I have very few possessions and only purchase new items if they provide utility for me. I am not compelled to purchase because of social pressure partially because I'm not interested but also because I have no TV and so have very little exposure to marketing.

There are 2 qualities about me that allow me to eschew "keeping up with the Jonses'" and that is my possession of an advanced degree and my long-term vegan status. Because of these, I automatically get a pass from having to comply with pressure to consume because I'm educated and kind of weird--in a charming way.

I am really grateful in a way I never anticipated for having made these choices earlier in my life because they give me the freedom to do whatever the hell I want and not have to explain myself for it. In fact, my choices are often considered as a viable alternative to people I meet who wouldn't think that way because I've got this cachet of originality that I guess is appealing. I don't think I am negatively judged at all for living a simple life.

PS--I'm also working like hell to get my mortgage paid off so I can finally be really free.

[rodeosweetheart]

I think if one has the ability to "choose" a bike to get to work, or choose whether or not to have a smartphone, then one is already way ahead of the game. Most jobs would not let employees walk around barefooted. No job I have ever had outside of academia, which is a very privileged world, has had that. The fact that one can request that, or argue with that, shows that one is already in a very high status position, socially speaking. Where I live, the folks riding bikes in the winter are the folks who have lost their licenses to DUI's, and that is the connotation of bike riding in the winter. Down south, it's the connotation year round, actually.

So many jobs I have applied for lately have asked for my drivers license number. I think it's a quick way to screen for substance abuse issues. If one can choose to go carless, then one is already in an enviable state, social capitally speaking.

The very fact that we can sit here and draw these conclusions about what we have and how we look to me shows that we are way, way up there on the power/social scale and are already extremely, extremely lucky and quite privileged. Those struggling don't have the luxury of sitting here commenting on status, or the luxury of appearing frugal or poor while having a paid for house, a college education, a steady job, etc.

So yes, I say chalk us all up as entitled, privileged, lucky, what have you. Until something happens, like a major illness, and the reality of the chasm that is real poverty threatens. Then, all bets are off.

[JaneV2.0]

Another group of non-drivers consists of people with intractable seizure disorders. Also the phobic.

[jp1]

I think rodeosweetheart nailed it. It really boils down to the fact that there's a huge difference between choosing not to have something and not having something because you can't afford it.

I didn't own a tv for all of the 90's. I had a good job. Spent money on plenty of other things that I actually wanted to spend money on. No one would have thought for a second that I didn't have a tv because I couldn't afford one. That said, like Steve's point about smart phones, if I'd tried to get a job at an ad agency (I was a marketing manager at a magazine publisher, so it could have been a rational career direction) and the hiring manager found out I didn't own a tv I would not have likely gotten the job.

[redfox]

Also don't show up with tatoo's or piercings showing, unless your looking for a job as a laborer. First impressions matter.

Is this true for women with pierced ears?

[catherine]

Those struggling don't have the luxury of sitting here commenting on status,

But the poor have their own status symbols and aspirations towards status, as do members of tribal villages, and those coming to this country or other countries with nothing in their pockets. One of the challenges of getting to the point where we can scale down our use of resources is that we (the lucky, "rich" ones) have Been There Done That with consumerism, and we can wipe the cake off our faces and say, "nah, now I want stop consuming for the benefit of the planet." However, the cycle has to go full circle until all the people in first and third world countries (is there a "Second World country?) have had our experience of choice before we can make real serious inroads on backpedaling on consuming.