[gabruoy]

At this scale, things aren’t being bought with money, but with other systems of value. Imagine if you had near-infinite disposable income, and also all of your friends do too. What could possibly be considered interesting or status-worthy at that point? Luxury status symbols that can only be bought with things like your own time spent with a brand, status, and personal connections are the only ways to distinguish yourself from others.

[add-sub-mul-div]

Living your life as if conspicuous consumption is bullshit is much more distinguishing.

[082349872349872]

Call me crazy, but I'd guess that retail products that (a) have a SKU, and (b) are submarine advertised on websites with >40mm monthly viewers, however much they may be positioned as being sold to those with near-infinite disposable income, are really being hawked to those with merely disposable income.

see https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/183/201...

[throwaway2037]

    > submarine advertised 

I never heard of this term before. What does it mean? And can you give an example?

[082349872349872]

https://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

Examples aplenty (from biblical times to the present, albeit in a slightly different domain) to be found in Linebarger, Psychological Warfare (1954)

> Almost all good propaganda—no matter what kind—is true. It uses truth selectively.

(note that PR people used to call themselves "propagandists" in peacetime as well, until WWI gave that a bad rep, and they needed to rebrand)