Why We Hate Cheap Things and Other Money-Related Essays

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Wedon'tthinkwehatecheapthings-butwefrequentlybehaveasifweratherdo.Considerthecleancottont-shirt.Wewouldn'tregardthisasaparticularlystylishfashionchoice,andcertainlynotasaglamorousone.Weareunlikelytostarewistfullyatacottont-shirtinashopwindow,orbuyoneinanticipationofaspecialevent.Wedon'tluxuriateinthefeelofthefabricwhenwepullthefreshlylaunderedgarmentoverourhead-yetLouisXVIwouldhavebeendeeplyimpressedbythisrareanddecadentphenomenon.Thet-shirtitselfhasnotchanged;onlyourattitudetoit.Whenwehavetopayalotforsomethingnice,weappreciateittothefull.Yetasitsmarketpricefalls,passionhasahabitoffadingaway.It'sapatternthatweseerecurringinarangeofareas-andit'saculturalmisfortune.Weneedtorethinkourpatternsofconsumption.Thisentertaininglyinformativebookconsidershowtodoso,andshowshowmoreofthethingswecouldlovearealreadytohand.Wemightbesurprisedtofindthatwearealreadyagooddealricherthanweareencouragedtothink.