“If I work, it’s not to buy the cheapest things!”
Amossé, Thomas
“If I work, it’s not to buy the cheapest things!” - 2019.
33
The increased precariousness of all working-class households, and not only the poorest, is likely to have changed the way they consume. By focusing the analysis on those who have (even temporarily) acquired a form of socioeconomic stability, and using a dual quantitative and qualitative method, we report both on the aspirations they share with households with a higher social status and on the economic behaviors or strategies they must deploy to achieve them. Their spending is characterized in particular by “new” social needs, such as a car and digital devices, but it also includes expensive amenities (branded clothing, technology) and services (restaurants, holidays abroad) that were previously almost totally absent. As the standard of living of these households remains limited, and above all fluctuating, these expenses can often only be achieved thanks to women’s wages (a condition for indulgence) and the strict organization of shopping methods and saving. It is only at this price that these working-class households can consume “like everyone else.”
“If I work, it’s not to buy the cheapest things!” - 2019.
33
The increased precariousness of all working-class households, and not only the poorest, is likely to have changed the way they consume. By focusing the analysis on those who have (even temporarily) acquired a form of socioeconomic stability, and using a dual quantitative and qualitative method, we report both on the aspirations they share with households with a higher social status and on the economic behaviors or strategies they must deploy to achieve them. Their spending is characterized in particular by “new” social needs, such as a car and digital devices, but it also includes expensive amenities (branded clothing, technology) and services (restaurants, holidays abroad) that were previously almost totally absent. As the standard of living of these households remains limited, and above all fluctuating, these expenses can often only be achieved thanks to women’s wages (a condition for indulgence) and the strict organization of shopping methods and saving. It is only at this price that these working-class households can consume “like everyone else.”
Réseaux sociaux