Status symbols are important. They’re a shortcut to letting everyone know how important we are.
When someone is rolling in their $200K 8mpg Italian supercar or hanging in their 15,000-square-foot crypto-Tuscan crib, they’re making a statement that they have money to burn.
So what’s going to happen when waste is out and green is the new cool?
Is there going to be a mass movement to smaller, more efficient cars and homes? This might be a struggle, because it would mean a fundamental shift in how we spend our money and are perceived by others.
I’ve been trying to figure how this will play out. Perhaps our new status symbols can be compact, efficient, and green… as long as they are very expensive. (Blue jeans are hip, as long as they cost $300.)
What do you think? Will people willingly downsize their lifestyle to reduce their carbon footprint, if it means appearing less important and elite? Will there be new indicators of social status, other than a big house and an expensive car? Could it be the start of a movement towards qualitative values like creativity, and away from today’s worship of wealth?