[cykros]

I'd say there's nuance to be had here. They don't just choose leisure, they, through generational practice and upbringing, can do so without completely becoming undone in the process.

See: what happens to most people who win the lottery, not having been first acclimated to that sort of wealth and leisure.

Look at the sorts of things the Victorian aristocracy indulged in. It's not that they couldn't instead have been diving face first into mountains of cocaine and very top shelf booze. They just also had the ability to pace themselves and find forms of leisure that weren't debaucherous, but nor were they work.

New money typically goes one way or the other -- it's that middle path that the old upper class manages to find a way to travel.

[voisin]

I appreciate your take on all this. It seems well reasoned from direct experience, though I may be wrong. Thanks for sharing.