Price of Luxury

Catalog description

What distinguishes a luxury from a necessity? How do we know luxury when we see it? Luxury goods range from art and handbags to automobiles, vintage vines and rare animal species, and many others items. Such goods have played important roles in the history of civilizations, triggering wars and financial crises or defining political and religious values. Luxury is also like a pioneer, making important steps for the first time, allowing mankind to develop its capabilities and expressing this development. In fact, the dynamic of "luxury" predates humans and figures in the behavior of mammals. Today, luxury goods are hardly reserved for the wealthiest, which devote nearly 65% of their consumption to such items, since low-income families (the bottom fifth of earners) also spend about 40% on luxuries and 60% on necessities. How does such behavior factor into a pursuit of just societies? How does it play out in everyday decision-making? Students in this multidisciplinary colloquium will examine the history, pricing, cost, and present state of luxury goods across societies and will learn to use scientific methods to envision the roles that luxury goods might play in humanity's future.