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Bobo elites and China's new rich differ only in externals
By Wan Lixin |
June 26, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S highly satisfying to see how a Bobo might wriggle and squeal under David Brooks' powerful magnifying glass.
His "Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There" (2000) should be required reading for those who want to identify this new species, and tagging it with other deprecating nicknames.
Bobos are short for Bourgeois Bohemians, who subtly blend 1960s bohemian counterculture with 1980s materialism.
Unlike the newly rich Chinese who still prefer to announce their wealth by extravagant overseas shopping sprees, Bobos don't buy big-ticket luxuries.
Bobos are the moneyed and cultured elites, who practice enlightened capitalism.
In America you sometimes catch a glimpse of them rushing to their jobs, grabbing a cup of overpriced coffee -- not any coffee. Only Starbucks will do.
Unlike the beat generation that shunned work, used dope, and sometimes kept afloat by petty theft, Bobos take both work and play seriously.
They work for self-expression, not crass accumulation, though. For this reason their jobs must be fulfilling, constructive, diverse, and challenging.
But it is how they spend that make them truly outstanding.
They prefer to spend on little things.
Karl Marx claimed that classes are defined by their means of production. Today classes are more about how you spend and socialize.
"Bobos surround themselves with remnants of the small, stable communities that radiate spiritual contentment. These are the nostalgic mementos of the communities we left behind," observes Brooks.
Marx wrote that capitalism profanes everything that is sacred.
Bobos by contrast sanctify everything that is profane.
Now we are seeing the end of history as "intellectual capital" and "cultural industry" come into vogue.
When ideology and culture are married to money, we can sell philosophy and taste by selling products.
Every aspect of human endeavor, be it ideas, emotion, entertainment, love, sex, or sports, can be subjected to rigorous cost analysis.
Certainly Bobos need not to be "on the road."
"The hardest of the hard-core sixties radicals believed the only honest way out was to reject the notion of success altogether: drop out of the rat race, retreat to small communities where real human relationships would flourish," Brooks claims.
Bobo intellectuals no longer see themselves as a part of a priesthood committed to beliefs and ideas.
In an age when marketing is everything, intellectual standards are about sales and ratings.
Instead of despising pleasures, Bobos have perfectly mastered the techniques for relaxation.
But pleasures must be purposeful and socially constructive.
They love eco-tours, organic foods, and never forget to erase their carbon footprint after long-haul flights.
They save the rain forest, safeguard world peace, reduce poverty, and ensure social justice even while shopping in the refrigerated aisle of Carrefour.
The Bobo play ethic is as demanding as the Bobo work ethic.
Bobo lifestyle represents the acme of capitalism when spirituality merges into materialism.
When I heard news of new rich Chinese -- coal mine owners or property developers -- splurging in Europe or America, it pains me to think that such extravagance, instead of redeeming their original sins, makes them doubly damned.
For China's new rich, these tips may be useful.
1. Only vulgarians spend a lot on luxuries. Bobos restrict their spending to necessities.
2. Spending money on anything that is of professional quality is OK. For instance, restaurant-quality kitchen appliances, gardening equipment and hiking gear.
3. Practice the perfectionism of small things. Look for the right pasta strainer, the distinctive doorknob, or ingeniously designed corkscrew.
4. Stress texture. Yuppies of the 1980s worshipped smooth services, but Bobos believe in natural irregularities.
5. The educated are expect to practice one-downmanship by mimicking the style of the social class below you. Wear faded blue jeans. A few holes will be better.
6 Spend a lot on things that used to be cheap: free-range chickens, designer coffee, Evian, and T-shirts.
The Bobo business motto is: "I Am Not a Businessperson; I'm a Creator Who Happens to Do Business."
His "Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There" (2000) should be required reading for those who want to identify this new species, and tagging it with other deprecating nicknames.
Bobos are short for Bourgeois Bohemians, who subtly blend 1960s bohemian counterculture with 1980s materialism.
Unlike the newly rich Chinese who still prefer to announce their wealth by extravagant overseas shopping sprees, Bobos don't buy big-ticket luxuries.
Bobos are the moneyed and cultured elites, who practice enlightened capitalism.
In America you sometimes catch a glimpse of them rushing to their jobs, grabbing a cup of overpriced coffee -- not any coffee. Only Starbucks will do.
Unlike the beat generation that shunned work, used dope, and sometimes kept afloat by petty theft, Bobos take both work and play seriously.
They work for self-expression, not crass accumulation, though. For this reason their jobs must be fulfilling, constructive, diverse, and challenging.
But it is how they spend that make them truly outstanding.
They prefer to spend on little things.
Karl Marx claimed that classes are defined by their means of production. Today classes are more about how you spend and socialize.
"Bobos surround themselves with remnants of the small, stable communities that radiate spiritual contentment. These are the nostalgic mementos of the communities we left behind," observes Brooks.
Marx wrote that capitalism profanes everything that is sacred.
Bobos by contrast sanctify everything that is profane.
Now we are seeing the end of history as "intellectual capital" and "cultural industry" come into vogue.
When ideology and culture are married to money, we can sell philosophy and taste by selling products.
Every aspect of human endeavor, be it ideas, emotion, entertainment, love, sex, or sports, can be subjected to rigorous cost analysis.
Certainly Bobos need not to be "on the road."
"The hardest of the hard-core sixties radicals believed the only honest way out was to reject the notion of success altogether: drop out of the rat race, retreat to small communities where real human relationships would flourish," Brooks claims.
Bobo intellectuals no longer see themselves as a part of a priesthood committed to beliefs and ideas.
In an age when marketing is everything, intellectual standards are about sales and ratings.
Instead of despising pleasures, Bobos have perfectly mastered the techniques for relaxation.
But pleasures must be purposeful and socially constructive.
They love eco-tours, organic foods, and never forget to erase their carbon footprint after long-haul flights.
They save the rain forest, safeguard world peace, reduce poverty, and ensure social justice even while shopping in the refrigerated aisle of Carrefour.
The Bobo play ethic is as demanding as the Bobo work ethic.
Bobo lifestyle represents the acme of capitalism when spirituality merges into materialism.
When I heard news of new rich Chinese -- coal mine owners or property developers -- splurging in Europe or America, it pains me to think that such extravagance, instead of redeeming their original sins, makes them doubly damned.
For China's new rich, these tips may be useful.
1. Only vulgarians spend a lot on luxuries. Bobos restrict their spending to necessities.
2. Spending money on anything that is of professional quality is OK. For instance, restaurant-quality kitchen appliances, gardening equipment and hiking gear.
3. Practice the perfectionism of small things. Look for the right pasta strainer, the distinctive doorknob, or ingeniously designed corkscrew.
4. Stress texture. Yuppies of the 1980s worshipped smooth services, but Bobos believe in natural irregularities.
5. The educated are expect to practice one-downmanship by mimicking the style of the social class below you. Wear faded blue jeans. A few holes will be better.
6 Spend a lot on things that used to be cheap: free-range chickens, designer coffee, Evian, and T-shirts.
The Bobo business motto is: "I Am Not a Businessperson; I'm a Creator Who Happens to Do Business."
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