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The following is excerpted from Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class Updated by Devin Penner.
What, according to Naylor, has changed since 1899? Whereas early-20th-century tycoons like Andrew Carnegie earned their wealth in the world of material production, “today’s parasitocracy” amass their fortunes in the dastardly world of international finance. Philanthropy is no longer driven by the desire to give back to one’s community, but is rather reduced to an opportunity for tax breaks, a means of perpetuating a “bacchanalian spending spree.” And this runaway consumption is now widely accepted in society: once fierce class struggle has morphed into “crass struggle,” the “minor disagreement between have-lots and wanna-have-mores.”
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Crass Struggle is impressive for its comprehensiveness, a testament to the two-plus decades Naylor has spent researching and writing about international black markets. Since it is being released at a moment when, despite persistent revenue shortages, powerful forces in Canada and the US appear poised to block any efforts to raise taxes on millionaires, Crass Struggle’s depiction of the true nature of luxury consumption is also timely. It fits well with the current social-democratic discourse calling for ceilings on CEO pay in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.
To learn more about Crass Struggle, or to order online, click here.
To arrange an interview with the author, contact MQUP Publicist Jacqui Davis.
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