Book #8
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
by David Brooks
284 pages (per Amazon)
I have wanted to read this book since it came out, in 2000, and with luck it was available for very cheap in the final days of the local Borders' closing. I really love David Brooks's writing, and this was the sort of (admittedly useless) book I used to read back in college when I was a sociology (admittedly useless) major. Brooks calls the book "comic sociology" by which he means that it does have some useful statistics and observations, but also alot of sarcasm, and I mean really, who wouldn't love comic sociology? I for one love it.
The word "bobo" stands for bourgeois-bohemian and Brooks's main thesis is that the new upper class has blended the bohemian values of the sixties with the bourgeois values of the eighties to produce an elite based on merit rather than breeding, an elite class that believes it still values countercultural ideals (environmentalism, multiculturalism) while producing and consuming those goods through successful mainstream capitalist ventures (Starbucks, Whole Foods, Pottery Barn). Essentially, in the upper class at least, Brooks says the culture war is over: you can support counterculture values and you can make a crap ton of money doing it! I was going to quote some of my favorite passages, particularly from the chapter on Leisure, where Brooks describes his trek through the REI superstore in Seattle (I ascended in my hiking boots, through the Gore Tex, and reached the peak of the summit, where I was comforted by a nonfat latte from the coffee shop). Alas, I lent my copy to Dave's mom (points for me!) and so I can't quote directly, which is sad. But I can leave you with this quote from the Amazon review, referencing shopping at Fresh Fields (forerunner of Whole Foods):
"The visitor to Fresh Fields is confronted with a big sign that says: 'Organic Items today: 130'. This is like a barometer of virtue. If you came in on a day when only 60 items were organic, you'd feel cheated. But when the number hits the three figures, you can walk through the aisles with moral confidence."
by David Brooks
284 pages (per Amazon)
I have wanted to read this book since it came out, in 2000, and with luck it was available for very cheap in the final days of the local Borders' closing. I really love David Brooks's writing, and this was the sort of (admittedly useless) book I used to read back in college when I was a sociology (admittedly useless) major. Brooks calls the book "comic sociology" by which he means that it does have some useful statistics and observations, but also alot of sarcasm, and I mean really, who wouldn't love comic sociology? I for one love it.
The word "bobo" stands for bourgeois-bohemian and Brooks's main thesis is that the new upper class has blended the bohemian values of the sixties with the bourgeois values of the eighties to produce an elite based on merit rather than breeding, an elite class that believes it still values countercultural ideals (environmentalism, multiculturalism) while producing and consuming those goods through successful mainstream capitalist ventures (Starbucks, Whole Foods, Pottery Barn). Essentially, in the upper class at least, Brooks says the culture war is over: you can support counterculture values and you can make a crap ton of money doing it! I was going to quote some of my favorite passages, particularly from the chapter on Leisure, where Brooks describes his trek through the REI superstore in Seattle (I ascended in my hiking boots, through the Gore Tex, and reached the peak of the summit, where I was comforted by a nonfat latte from the coffee shop). Alas, I lent my copy to Dave's mom (points for me!) and so I can't quote directly, which is sad. But I can leave you with this quote from the Amazon review, referencing shopping at Fresh Fields (forerunner of Whole Foods):
"The visitor to Fresh Fields is confronted with a big sign that says: 'Organic Items today: 130'. This is like a barometer of virtue. If you came in on a day when only 60 items were organic, you'd feel cheated. But when the number hits the three figures, you can walk through the aisles with moral confidence."