The idea of luxury : a conceptual and historical investigation
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The idea of luxury : a conceptual and historical investigation
（Ideas in context / edited by Quentin Skinner (general editor) ... [et al.], 30）
Cambridge University Press, 1994
- : hbk
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-259) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In this far-ranging and innovative study Christopher Berry explores the meanings and ramifications of the idea of luxury. Insights from political theory, philosophy and intellectual history are utilised in a sophisticated conceptual analysis that is complemented by a series of specific historical investigations. Dr Berry suggests that the value attached to luxury is a crucial component in any society's self-understanding, and shows how luxury has changed from being essentially a negative term, threatening social virtue, to a guileless ploy supporting consumption. His analytic focus upon the interplay between the notions of need and desire suggests that luxuries fall into four categories - sustenance, shelter, clothing and leisure - and these are exemplified in sources as diverse as classical philosophy and contemporary advertising.
Table of Contents
- Part I. Preliminary Essay: 1. Luxury goods
- Part II. The Classical Paradigm: 2. The platonic prelude
- 3. The Roman response
- 4. The Christian contribution
- Part III. The Transition to Modernity: 5. The de-moralisation of luxury
- 6. The eighteenth-century debate
- 7. The historicity of needs
- Part IV. Politics, Needs and Desires: 8. Luxury and the politics of needs and desires
- 9. Luxury, necessity and social identity.
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