布迪厄的消费分层论

Bourdieu's Theory on Consumption Stratification

马克思没有消费分层论,但布迪厄的地位消费论,将消费视为阶级地位的象征表达,理论逻辑与马克思一致;通过象征行为来定义一个群体,这个思路首先来自韦伯,也与凡勃仑相通,即消费实现地位,已经明白地将消费当做分层的机制。但,第一,身份不是不同于阶级的独立群体,但身份掩饰了其起源的阶级,就是以生活风格等级合法化阶级地位的等级,布迪厄与韦伯的区别在此;第二,消费竞赛,是财富竞赛,但表现为趣味竞赛,这既掩饰了权力关系,本身又是权力斗争,即象征权力的斗争,此为布迪厄超越凡勃仑之处。象征权力,是划分、评价世界的权力;消费分层,分出趣味的等级,社会重要性和存在理由的等级,所以具有合法化世界秩序和再生产社会秩序的功能,这就是象征权力的机制,这也就是布迪厄消费分层论的核心观点。

Although Marx did not come up with the theory of stratified consumption, Bourdieu＇ s theory on positional consumption, which regards consumption as a symbolic tus, is consistent with Marx in terms of its theoretical logic. The idea of bolic behaviors was first brought up by Weber, and was reflected in Ve expression of class sta- defining a group by its symblen＇ s theory, that is, consumption manifests social status, which has explicitly seen consumption as a mechanism of social stratification. However, firstly, though identity is not an independent group that is different from class, it does conceal its origin of class by legitimizing the hierarchy of class statuses with the hierarchy of life styles. This is the main difference between Bourdieu and Weber. Secondly, the competition of consumption is essentially a competition of wealth, but is disguised as a competition of tastes, which covers up the power relations but is power struggle itself, i. e. , the struggle of symbolic pow- ers. This is where Bourdieu outdistanced Veblen. Symbolic power is the power to differentiate and judge the world. Therefore, consumption stratification, by creating hierarchies of tastes as well as hierarchies of social importance and reasons for existence, has the functions of legitimizing world order and reproducing social order. This is the mechanism of symbolic powers, as well as the core idea of Bourdieu＇ s theory on consumption and social stratification.