A cultural perspective on luxury: how culture impacts the perception of luxury

Abstract

The concept of luxury has always been of immense social importance across different cultures and geographies right from the dawn of humanity. Over different periods of time, although the manifestations of the concept of luxury have witnessed a significant evolution, its pursuit and importance in societies have never faded away. It has always remained as a major sociological issue - being an elevating and inspirational force in society on one hand, and a social stratifier and enemy of virtues on the other. Therefore, it would be appropriate to say that irrespective of how one chooses to define the concept of luxury, it is surely not a socially neutral concept. The extent of the embeddedness of luxury in society can be understood by analysing what luxury primarily does to society i.e. social stratification. As a consequence of the nature of the construct of the concept of luxury, it is meant to belong to the privileged few which makes it serve as a strong social stratifier and its ownership having a strong symbolic value in society. However, it would be inappropriate to limit the understanding of luxury to its external symbolic value because it has been an established notion that ownership of luxury also holds a tremendous value for an individual’s own self. It establishes a strong sense of pride, self-confidence, and validation to a person’s own self.