A Luxurious Cesspool

Shakespeare’s vision may attempt to lead the mortal men towards the blissful path where the nomenclature of a rose is not vital at all, but real men in real world attach a great deal of importance to the image they present. This image is perhaps the very basis of all human endeavors. If not for this, man would be satisfied with the bare essentials and that contentment would culminate in the creation of a stagnant world. The quest for something unattainable, something beyond the limits, something that sets an individual apart from the common echelon of society__ that quest is the epitome of human existence. And this quest is initiated by the objects classified as “luxury goods.”

Pakistan’s economy is following a sinking path. The more oblique the future is becoming, the more ideas of luxuries are being presented. Couple of years back, a lay man had no clue what a designer’s wear was. Now if you don’t know anything about Louis Vuitton or Gucci, you have been living under a rock. This is a serious comment on the shattered structure of our national economy.

The process of a ‘luxury’ product’s formation is a complex socio-economic phenomenon. The products which attain the aura of luxury are discerned from other such artifacts by their superior components and materials, unyielding construction, stylish appearance and increased durability. Such objet d'arts include various categories of luxury cars, expensive watches and jewelry, designer clothing, yachts, and large residences such as McMansions, urban mansions and country houses. In this regard, there is some attention-grabbing terminology that enlarges the very concept of luxury.

Certain articles are what the encyclopedia calls “Veblen goods,” which have a positive price elasticity of demand. Their price is increased in order to set them apart as possessors of higher quality and thus their stipulation amplifies rather than obliterating. So making a perfume more expensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down.

Then there are some objects whose sole rationale is the manifestation of wealth by their owners. This phenomenon is what economists call “conspicuous consumption,” and encompasses the variables of classic luxury goods such as haute couture clothing, accessories, and luggage, even chocolates. These items, not being any better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with the sole purpose of displaying wealth or income of their owners.

So behind an object of luxury, there is a whole saga of socio-economic, cultural and ethnic factors. When the “Veblen goods” reach the markets, they transform into little gods and goddesses. A luxury item is perhaps the Muse which animates the flesh and bone structure of dreams with life. They give man the stuff which dreams are made on, enabling them to step on the leaning horizon and cross the facile limitations. What Posto Del Sole does, what Prada envisions, is something which gives a coherent pattern to the fragments of a thousand mortal dreams. The Muse of beauty and splendor spreads lavishness and bounty, making earth a place worth saving. This Muse unveils herself in the magnitude of some nomenclatures, of some ‘luxury brands.’ An Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Richemont or Burberry piece is not a mere object, it’s an objet d'art, which zeros in the quest for the unimaginable. And this is when the frustration of a middle class man reaches its climax.

A man with an average lifestyle, with a normally well paid job, can no longer be satisfied with his lot. He has become a hog, digging deeper and deeper and finding nothing. Perhaps Karl Marx was right when he criticized the role of luxury goods and coined the term “commodity fetishism,” which means a state of social relations, said to arise in complex capitalist market systems, in which social relationships center around the values placed on commodities. Such a thing increases the gap between the lower and upper economic strata of society, eliminating the middle class altogether.

The current socio-economic condition of Pakistan presents a grotesque picture in which automobiles worth billions are parked outside luxury hotels on the broken roads and on the cesspools. We are international beggars, hankering for more and more loans every day. We have not returned a single paisa of the loans and have no intention of doing so in future, yet each day dawns with the opening of yet another brand outlet in Pakistan. The distance between the economic classes is getting stronger and stronger, contributing to the moral and social devastation of our society.