Thevaryingdegreesofeasewithwhichdifferenthabitsareformedbydifferentpersons，aswellasthevaryingdegreesofreluctancewithwhichdifferenthabitsaregivenup，goestosaythattheformationofspecifichabitsisnotamatteroflengthofhabituationsimply。Inheritedaptitudesandtraitsoftemperamentcountforquiteasmuchaslengthofhabituationindecidingwhatrangeofhabitswillcometodominateanyindividual’sschemeoflife。Andtheprevalenttypeoftransmittedaptitudes，orinotherwordsthetypeoftemperamentbelongingtothedominantethnicelementinanycommunity，willgofartodecidewhatwillbethescopeandformofexpressionofthecommunity’shabituallifeprocess。Howgreatlythetransmittedidiosyncrasiesofaptitudemaycountinthewayofarapidanddefinitiveformationofhabitinindividualsisillustratedbytheextremefacilitywithwhichanall-dominatinghabitofalcoholismissometimesformed；orinthesimilarfacilityandthesimilarlyinevitableformationofahabitofdevoutobservancesinthecaseofpersonsgiftedwithaspecialaptituDeinthatdirection。Muchthesamemeaningattachestothatpeculiarfacilityofhabituationtoaspecifichumanenvironmentthatiscalledromanticlove。
　　Mendifferinrespectoftransmittedaptitudes，orinrespectoftherelativefacilitywithwhichtheyunfoldtheirlifeactivityinparticulardirections；andthehabitswhichcoincidewithorproceeduponarelativelystrongspecificaptitudeorarelativelygreatspecificfacilityofexpressionbecomeofgreatconsequencetotheman’swell-being。Thepartplayedbythiselementofaptitudeindeterminingtherelativetenacityoftheseveralhabitswhichconstitutethestandardoflivinggoestoexplaintheextremereluctancewithwhichmengiveupanyhabitualexpenditureinthewayofconspicuousconsumption。Theaptitudesorpropensitiestowhichahabitofthiskindistobereferredasitsgroundarethoseaptitudeswhoseexerciseiscomprisedinemulation；andthepropensityforemulation——forinvidiouscomparison——isofancientgrowthandisapervadingtraitofhumannature。Itiseasilycalledintovigorousactivityinanynewform，anditassertsitselfwithgreatinsistenceunderanyformunderwhichithasoncefoundhabitualexpression。Whentheindividualhasonceformedthehabitofseekingexpressioninagivenlineofhonorificexpenditure——whenagivensetofstimulihavecometobehabituallyrespondedtoinactivityofagivenkindanddirectionundertheguidanceofthesealertanddeep-reachingpropensitiesofemulation——itiswithextremereluctancethatsuchanhabitualexpenditureisgivenup。Andontheotherhand，wheneveranaccessionofpecuniarystrengthputstheindividualinapositiontounfoldhislifeprocessinlargerscopeandwithadditionalreach，theancientpropensitiesoftheracewillassertthemselvesindeterminingthedirectionwhichthenewunfoldingoflifeistotake。Andthosepropensitieswhicharealreadyactivelyinthefieldundersomerelatedformofexpression，whichareaidedbythepointedsuggestionsaffordedbyacurrentaccreditedschemeoflife，andfortheexerciseofwhichthematerialmeansandopportunitiesarereadilyavailable——thesewillespeciallyhavemuchtosayinshapingtheformanddirectioninwhichthenewaccessiontotheindividual’saggregateforcewillassertitself。Thatistosay，inconcreteterms，inanycommunitywhereconspicuousconsumptionisanelementoftheschemeoflife，anincreaseinanindividual’sabilitytopayislikelytotaketheformofanexpenditureforsomeaccreditedlineofconspicuousconsumption。
　　Withtheexceptionoftheinstinctofself-preservation，thepropensityforemulationisprobablythestrongestandmostalertandpersistentoftheeconomicmotivesproper。Inanindustrialcommunitythispropensityforemulationexpressesitselfinpecuniaryemulation；andthis，sofarasregardstheWesterncivilizedcommunitiesofthepresent，isvirtuallyequivalenttosayingthatitexpressesitselfinsomeformofconspicuouswaste。Theneedofconspicuouswaste，therefore，standsreadytoabsorbanyincreaseinthecommunity’sindustrialefficiencyoroutputofgoods，afterthemostelementaryphysicalwantshavebeenprovidedfor。Wherethisresultdoesnotfollow，undermodernconditions，thereasonforthediscrepancyiscommonlytobesoughtinarateofincreaseintheindividual’swealthtoorapidforthehabitofexpendituretokeepabreastofit；oritmaybethattheindividualinquestiondeferstheconspicuousconsumptionoftheincrementtoalaterdate——ordinarilywithaviewtoheighteningthespectaculareffectoftheaggregateexpenditurecontemplated。Asincreasedindustrialefficiencymakesitpossibletoprocurethemeansoflivelihoodwithlesslabor，theenergiesoftheindustriousmembersofthecommunityarebenttothecompassingofahigherresultinconspicuousexpenditure，ratherthanslackenedtoamorecomfortablepace。
　　Thestrainisnotlightenedasindustrialefficiencyincreasesandmakesalighterstrainpossible，buttheincrementofoutputisturnedtousetomeetthiswant，whichisindefinitelyexpansible，afterthemannercommonlyimputedineconomictheorytohigherorspiritualwants。ItisowingchieflytothepresenceofthiselementinthestandardoflivingthatJ。S。Millwasabletosaythat“hithertoitisquestionableifallthemechanicalinventionsyetmadehavelightenedtheday’stoilofanyhumanbeing。“Theacceptedstandardofexpenditureinthecommunityorintheclasstowhichapersonbelongslargelydetermineswhathisstandardoflivingwillbe。Itdoesthisdirectlybycommendingitselftohiscommonsenseasrightandgood，throughhishabituallycontemplatingitandassimilatingtheschemeoflifeinwhichitbelongs；butitdoessoalsoindirectlythroughpopularinsistenceonconformitytotheacceptedscaleofexpenditureasamatterofpropriety，underpainofdisesteemandostracism。Toacceptandpracticethestandardoflivingwhichisinvogueisbothagreeableandexpedient，commonlytothepointofbeingindispensabletopersonalcomfortandtosuccessinlife。Thestandardoflivingofanyclass，sofarasconcernstheelementofconspicuouswaste，iscommonlyashighastheearningcapacityoftheclasswillpermit——withaconstanttendencytogohigher。Theeffectupontheseriousactivitiesofmenisthereforetodirectthemwithgreatsinglenessofpurposetothelargestpossibleacquisitionofwealth，andtodiscountenanceworkthatbringsnopecuniarygain。Atthesametimetheeffectonconsumptionistoconcentrateituponthelineswhicharemostpatenttotheobserverswhosegoodopinionissought；whiletheinclinationsandaptitudeswhoseexercisedoesnotinvolveahonorificexpenditureoftimeorsubstancetendtofallintoabeyancethroughdisuse。
　　Throughthisdiscriminationinfavorofvisibleconsumptionithascomeaboutthatthedomesticlifeofmostclassesisrelativelyshabby，ascomparedwiththe閏latofthatovertportionoftheirlifethatiscarriedonbeforetheeyesofobservers。Asasecondaryconsequenceofthesamediscrimination，peoplehabituallyscreentheirprivatelifefromobservation。Sofarasconcernsthatportionoftheirconsumptionthatmaywithoutblamebecarriedoninsecret，theywithdrawfromallcontactwiththeirneighbors，Hencetheexclusivenessofpeople，asregardstheirdomesticlife，inmostoftheindustriallydevelopedcommunities；andhence，byremoterderivation，thehabitofprivacyandreservethatissolargeafeatureinthecodeofproprietiesofthebetterclassinallcommunities。Thelowbirthrateoftheclassesuponwhomtherequirementsofreputableexpenditurefallwithgreaturgencyislikewisetraceabletotheexigenciesofastandardoflivingbasedonconspicuouswaste。Theconspicuousconsumption，andtheconsequentincreasedexpense，requiredinthereputablemaintenanceofachildisveryconsiderableandactsasapowerfuldeterrent。ItisprobablythemosteffectualoftheMalthusianprudentialchecks。
　　Theeffectofthisfactorofthestandardofliving，bothinthewayofretrenchmentintheobscurerelementsofconsumptionthatgotophysicalcomfortandmaintenance，andalsointhepaucityorabsenceofchildren，isperhapsseenatitsbestamongtheclassesgiventoscholarlypursuits。Becauseofapresumedsuperiorityandscarcityofthegiftsandattainmentsthatcharacterizetheirlife，theseclassesarebyconventionsubsumedunderahighersocialgradethantheirpecuniarygradeshouldwarrant。Thescaleofdecentexpenditureintheircaseispitchedcorrespondinglyhigh，anditconsequentlyleavesanexceptionallynarrowmargindisposablefortheotherendsoflife。Byforceofcircumstances，theirhabitualsenseofwhatisgoodandrightinthesematters，aswellastheexpectationsofthecommunityinthewayofpecuniarydecencyamongthelearned，areexcessivelyhigh——asmeasuredbytheprevalentdegreeofopulenceandearningcapacityoftheclass，relativelytothenon-scholarlyclasseswhosesocialequalstheynominallyare。Inanymoderncommunitywherethereisnopriestlymonopolyoftheseoccupations，thepeopleofscholarlypursuitsareunavoidablythrownintocontactwithclassesthatarepecuniarilytheirsuperiors。Thehighstandardofpecuniarydecencyinforceamongthesesuperiorclassesistransfusedamongthescholarlyclasseswithbutlittlemitigationofitsrigor；andasaconsequencethereisnoclassofthecommunitythatspendsalargerproportionofitssubstanceinconspicuouswastethanthese。
　　ChapterSixPecuniaryCanonsofTasteThecautionhasalreadybeenrepeatedmorethanonce，thatwhiletheregulatingnormofconsumptionisinlargeparttherequirementofconspicuouswaste，itmustnotbeunderstoodthatthemotiveonwhichtheconsumeractsinanygivencaseisthisprincipleinitsbald，unsophisticatedform。Ordinarilyhismotiveisawishtoconformtoestablishedusage，toavoidunfavorablenoticeandcomment，toliveuptotheacceptedcanonsofdecencyinthekind，amount，andgradeofgoodsconsumed，aswellasinthedecorousemploymentofhistimeandeffort。Inthecommonrunofcasesthissenseofprescriptiveusageispresentinthemotivesoftheconsumerandexertsadirectconstrainingforce，especiallyasregardsconsumptioncarriedonundertheeyesofobservers。Butaconsiderableelementofprescriptiveexpensivenessisobservablealsoinconsumptionthatdoesnotinanyappreciabledegreebecomeknowntooutsiders——as，forinstance，articlesofunderclothing，somearticlesoffood，kitchenutensils，andotherhouseholdapparatusdesignedforserviceratherthanforevidence。Inallsuchusefularticlesaclosescrutinywilldiscovercertainfeatureswhichaddtothecostandenhancethecommercialvalueofthegoodsinquestion，butdonotproportionatelyincreasetheserviceabilityofthesearticlesforthematerialpurposeswhichalonetheyostensiblyaredesignedtoserve。
　　Undertheselectivesurveillanceofthelawofconspicuouswastetheregrowsupacodeofaccreditedcanonsofconsumption，theeffectofwhichistoholdtheconsumeruptoastandardofexpensivenessandwastefulnessinhisconsumptionofgoodsandinhisemploymentoftimeandeffort。Thisgrowthofprescriptiveusagehasanimmediateeffectuponeconomiclife，butithasalsoanindirectandremotereffectuponconductinotherrespectsaswell。Habitsofthoughtwithrespecttotheexpressionoflifeinanygivendirectionunavoidablyaffectthehabitualviewofwhatisgoodandrightinlifeinotherdirectionsalso。Intheorganiccomplexofhabitsofthoughtwhichmakeupthesubstanceofanindividual’sconsciouslifetheeconomicinterestdoesnotlieisolatedanddistinctfromallotherinterests。Something，forinstance，hasalreadybeensaidofitsrelationtothecanonsofreputability。
　　Theprincipleofconspicuouswasteguidestheformationofhabitsofthoughtastowhatishonestandreputableinlifeandincommodities。Insodoing，thisprinciplewilltraverseothernormsofconductwhichdonotprimarilyhavetodowiththecodeofpecuniaryhonor，butwhichhave，directlyorincidentally，aneconomicsignificanceofsomemagnitude。Sothecanonofhonorificwastemay，immediatelyorremotely，influencethesenseofduty，thesenseofbeauty，thesenseofutility，thesenseofdevotionalorritualisticfitness，andthescientificsenseoftruth。