Keeping Up with the Joneses: Envy in American Consumer Society, 1890-1930

by Susan J. Matt

A century ago many Americans condemned envy as a destructive emotion and a sin. Today few Americans expect criticism when they express envy, and some commentators maintain that the emotion drives the economy. This shift in attitude is Susan Matt's central concern. Keeping up with the Envy in American Consumer Society, 1890-1930 examines a key transition in the meaning of envy for the American middle class. Although people certainly have experienced envy throughout history, the expansion of the consumer economy at the turn of the twentieth century dramatically reshaped the social role of the emotion. Matt looks at how different groups within the middle class—men in white-collar jobs, bourgeois women, farm families, and children—responded to the transformation in social and cultural life.

Keeping Up with the Joneses traces how attitudes about envy changed as department stores, mail-order catalogs, magazines, movies, and advertising became more prevalent, and the mass production of imitation luxury goods offered middle- and working-class individuals the opportunity to emulate upper-class life. Between 1890 and 1910 moralists sought to tame envy and emulation in order to uphold a moral economy and preserve social order. They criticized the liberal-capitalist preoccupation with personal striving and advancement and praised the virtue of contentment. They admonished the bourgeoisie to be satisfied with their circumstances and cease yearning for their neighbors' possessions. After 1910 more secular commentators gained ground, repudiating the doctrine of contentment and rejecting the notion that there were divinely ordained limits on what each class should possess. They encouraged everyone to pursue the objects of desire. Envy was no longer a sin, but a valuable economic stimulant.

The expansion of consumer economy fostered such institutions as department stores and advertising firms, but it also depended on a transformation in attitudes and emotional codes. Matt explores the ways gender, geography, and age shaped this transformation. Bridging the history of emotions and the history of consumerism, she uncovers the connection between changing social norms and the growth of the consumer economy.

232 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Susan J. Matt is Presidential Distinguished Professor of History at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. She is the author of Keeping Up with the Joneses: Envy in American Consumer Society, 1890-1930.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspired the topic for my Master’s thesis so it has had a profound effect on me. Extremely well presented and boundlessly fascinating if you’re at all interested in the topic of cultural/social research.

[Sonja Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book on how the shift to our modern consumer mindset occurred in the early 20th century.

[David Lipely · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and well written book on the modern culture through the eyes of envy and social appearance!

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Envy versus needs,is how consumerism has changed in our American culture, helps me understand today's economic dilemma.

[Andrew]

A lovely study that adds new layers of research and insight to classics on fin-de-siecle consumer culture by the likes of Lears, Leach, Susman, and Horowitz.