Consumption, taste, and the economic transition in modern China

ABSTRACT

Theories of the sociology of consumption tend to be Western-based and they are embedded in a sociocultural context. This article aims to explore how Veblen’s status-seeking model and Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and habitus manifest themselves in post-socialist China. I also provide explanations for these nuances and, building on Eckhardt et al. (2015)’s work, I identify variations of conspicuous consumption in China. Based on my research, the Chinese upper middle class display “conspicuous frugality” and “unostentatious conspicuous consumption” patterns because of Chinese traditional culture. Furthermore, I also adapt ideas from Üstüner and Holt (2010) and explore how cultural capital and habitus work differently in China than in Bourdieu’s model. In contrast to Holt (1997), high cultural capital consumers in China do not reject materialism. Additionally, unlike Bourdieu’s arguments, Chinese class fractions distinguish themselves from others through conscious calculation rather than habitus.

KEYWORDS:

• Bourdieu
• China
• conspicuous consumption
• cultural capital
• taste
• Veblen

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to John Stone, David Swartz, Juliet Schor, and Alya Guseva for providing helpful suggestions on early drafts of this paper. An earlier version was also presented at the Annual American Sociology Association Meeting in 2012, and I appreciate the constructive comments of the participants on this panel. I also would like to thank the editors of Consumption Markets & Culture and anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions and comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 See Table 1 for demographics.