“For forty years or so this was the world headquarters of conspicuous consumption.”
Bill Bryson (1951) American author
about Newport, Rhode Island (RI)
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America (1989)
Source: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
“For forty years or so this was the world headquarters of conspicuous consumption.”
Bill Bryson (1951) American author
about Newport, Rhode Island (RI)
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America (1989)
“Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.”
Thorstein Veblen book The Theory of the Leisure Class
Source: The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), p. 57,
“One of the reasons religions are widely accepted is spiritual laziness and its resulting fear.”
Ai Weiwei (1957) Chinese concept artist
Ai Weiwei on Twitter in English (beta). (December 24, 2010) http://aiwwenglish.tumblr.com/
2010-, Twitter feeds, 2010-12
Daniel Abraham (1969) speculative fiction writer from the United States
Source: Caliban's War (2012), Chapter 30 (p. 330)
Anthony Crosland book The Future of Socialism
The Future of Socialism by Anthony Crosland.
The Future of Socialism (1956)
Ellen Willis (1941–2006) writer, activist
"We Need a Radical Left," The Nation (29 June 1998)
Context: By definition, the conventional wisdom of the day is widely accepted, continually reiterated and regarded not as ideology but as reality itself. Rebelling against "reality," even when its limitations are clearly perceived, is always difficult. It means deciding things can be different and ought to be different; that your own perceptions are right and the experts and authorities wrong; that your discontent is legitimate and not merely evidence of selfishness, failure or refusal to grow up. Recognizing that "reality" is not inevitable makes it more painful; subversive thoughts provoke the urge to subversive action. But such action has consequences — rebels risk losing their jobs, failing in school, incurring the wrath of parents and spouses, suffering social ostracism. Often vociferous conservatism is sheer defensiveness: People are afraid to be suckers, to get their hopes up, to rethink their hard-won adjustments, to be branded bad or crazy.
“Nature is our mother. She is not a resource for human consumption.”
Krishna Kant Shukla (1959) Indian Classical musician
“There can be no greater error then in supposing that capital is increased by non-consumption.”
David Ricardo (1772–1823) British political economist, broker and politician
Source: The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1821) (Third Edition), Chapter VIII, On Taxes, Foot note 1, p. 94
Larry Wall (1954) American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl
[1991Aug22.220929.6857@netlabs.com, 1991]
Usenet postings, 1991