Keeping down with the Joneses

In the Conspicuous Consumption Department, peer pressure has been turned upside down. As the number of people losing their houses and their jobs rises, those who are still able to spend lavishly are losing their desire to do so. It's unseemly, decadent, even immoral, according to the could-be spenders interviewed for the New York Times article.

It shows that, for some, today's downturn may be the cure for compulsive shopping. “It’s kind of funny, but I feel much more satisfied with the things money can’t buy, like the well-being of my family," said Maxine Frankel, 59, a high school teacher from Illinois. "I’m just not seeking happiness from material things anymore.”

One of the experts, Juliet B. Schor, an economist at Boston College and the author of “The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting and the New Consumer” (Basic Books, 1998), says the downturn has eliminated the need to compete, as we focus on those who are worse off. And, no doubt, as we focus on the fact that we are just one layoff away from being worse off, too.