"Progressive Individualism Created by Late Capitalism"

"Currid-Halkett convincingly argues that the consumer preferences of today's elite—be it the approved podcast, TED Talk, or magazine; goat tacos from the farmers market, a five-dollar cup of Intelligentsia Coffee, ceviche at the Oaxacan restaurant in the approved urban enclave, or tuition for the anointed school—are now the primary means by which members of the educated elite establish, reinforce, and signify their identities. In a detailed analysis of the experience of shopping at a Whole Foods supermarket, for instance, she explores the rather stark hypothesis that 'for the aspirational class, we are what we eat, drink, and consume more generally.' By creating 'an identity and story to which people wish to subscribe,' the store allows members of that class to 'consume [their] way to a particular type of persona.' The upshot is that elite consumption—the pursuit of personal gratification—somewhat paradoxically entwines with the pursuit and buttressing of what amounts to a tribal identity."

Benjamin Schwartz at The American Conservative reviews Elizabeth Currid-Halkett's The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class.