Instrictaccuracynothingshouldbeincludedundertheheadofconspicuouswastebutsuchexpenditureasisincurredonthegroundofaninvidiouspecuniarycomparison。Butinordertobringanygivenitemorelementinunderthisheaditisnotnecessarythatitshouldberecognizedaswasteinthissensebythepersonincurringtheexpenditure。Itfrequentlyhappensthatanelementofthestandardoflivingwhichsetoutwithbeingprimarilywasteful，endswithbecoming，intheapprehensionoftheconsumer，anecessaryoflife；anditmayinthiswaybecomeasindispensableasanyotheritemoftheconsumer’shabitualexpenditure。Asitemswhichsometimesfallunderthishead，andarethereforeavailableasillustrationsofthemannerinwhichthisprincipleapplies，maybecitedcarpetsandtapestries，silvertableservice，waiter’sservices，silkhats，starchedlinen，manyarticlesofjewelryandofdress。Theindispensabilityofthesethingsafterthehabitandtheconventionhavebeenformed，however，haslittletosayintheclassificationofexpendituresaswasteornotwasteinthetechnicalmeaningoftheword。ThetesttowhichallexpendituremustbebroughtinanattempttodecidethatpointisthequestiOnwhetheritservesdirectlytoenhancehumanlifeonthewhole-whetheritfurthersthelifeprocesstakenimpersonally。
Forthisisthebasisofawardoftheinstinctofworkmanship，andthatinstinctisthecourtoffinalappealinanyquestionofeconomictruthoradequacy。Itisaquestionastotheawardrenderedbyadispassionatecommonsense。Thequestionis，therefore，notwhether，undertheexistingcircumstancesofindividualhabitandsocialcustom，agivenexpenditureconducestotheparticularconsumer’sgratificationorpeaceofmind；butwhether，asidefromacquiredtastesandfromthecanonsofusageandconventionaldecency，itsresultisanetgainincomfortorinthefullnessoflife。Customaryexpendituremustbeclassedundertheheadofwasteinsofarasthecustomonwhichitrestsistraceabletothehabitofmakinganinvidiouspecuniarycomparison-insofarasitisconceivedthatitcouldnothavebecomecustomaryandprescriptivewithoutthebackingofthisprincipleofpecuniaryreputabilityorrelativeeconomicsuccess。
Itisobviouslynotnecessarythatagivenobjectofexpenditureshouldbeexclusivelywastefulinordertocomeinunderthecategoryofconspicuouswaste。Anarticlemaybeusefulandwastefulboth，auditsutilitytotheconsumermaybemadeupofuseandwasteinthemostvaryingproportions。Consumablegoods，andevenproductivegoods，generallyshowthetwoelementsincombination，asconstituentsoftheirutility；although，inageneralway，theelementofwastetendstopredominateinarticlesofconsumption，whilethecontraryistrueofarticlesdesignedforproductiveuse。Eveninarticleswhichappearatfirstglancetoserveforpureostentationonly，itisalwayspossibletodetectthepresenceofsome，atleastostensible，usefulpurpose；andontheotherhand，eveninspecialmachineryandtoolscontrivedforsomeparticularindustrialprocess，aswellasintherudestappliancesofhumanindustry，thetracesofconspicuouswaste，oratleastofthehabitofostentation，usuallybecomeevidentonaclosescrutiny。Itwouldbehazardoustoassertthatausefulpurposeiseverabsentfromtheutilityofanyarticleorofanyservice，howeverobviouslyitsprimepurposeandchiefelementisconspicuouswaste；anditwouldbeonlylesshazardoustoassertofanyprimarilyusefulproductthattheelementofwasteisinnowayconcernedinitsvalue，immediatelyorremotely。
Chapter5
ThePecuniaryStandardofLivingForthegreatbodyofthepeopleinanymoderncommunity，theproximategroundofexpenditureinexcessofwhatisrequiredforphysicalcomfortisnotaconsciousefforttoexcelintheexpensivenessoftheirvisibleconsumption，somuchasitisadesiretoliveuptotheconventionalstandardofdecencyintheamountandgradeofgoodsconsumed。Thisdesireisnotguidedbyarigidlyinvariablestandard，whichmustbelivedupto，andbeyondwhichthereisnoincentivetogo。Thestandardisflexible；andespeciallyitisindefinitelyextensible，ifonlytimeisallowedforhabituationtoanyincreaseinpecuniaryabilityandforacquiringfacilityinthenewandlargerscaleofexpenditurethatfollowssuchanincrease。Itismuchmoredifficulttorecedefromascaleofexpenditureonceadoptedthanitistoextendtheaccustomedscaleinresponsetoanaccessionofwealth。Manyitemsofcustomaryexpenditureproveonanalysistobealmostpurelywasteful，andtheyarethereforehonorificonly，butaftertheyhaveoncebeenincorporatedintothescaleofdecentconsumption，andsohavebecomeanintegralpartofone’sschemeoflife，itisquiteashardtogiveuptheseasitistogiveupmanyitemsthatconducedirectlytoone’sphysicaL