07-04-2013, 07:18 AM
Perhaps I am right in saying there is more conspicuous consumption nowadays? The politics of envy will become more and more pronounced in time to come.
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Apr 07, 2013
Posh nightclubs, Porsches and the politics of envy
By Robin Chan Political Correspondent
I entered Pangaea last year, dressed in what I thought was a pretty sharp outfit - a Uniqlo T-shirt and jeans I had bought, all for under $80.
Yet, I felt like I had committed a crime, as the girl at the door of what is billed as Singapore's most exclusive club scanned me from top to bottom with distinct disapproval.
When I was eventually let through, it was as if I had cheated St Peter to slip through the Pearly Gates. The music was thumping. The women had squeezed into their tightest dresses. The bottle service was in full swing.
Known for its trademark safari theme, Pangaea had that feel all right - I was in a reserve of the well-heeled, where the privileged could preen and frolic in their exclusive and natural habitat.
Owner Michael Ault has called the club the ultimate house party for the world's glitterati - where exclusivity and top service come at an exorbitant premium. It can be, at the same time, severely discombobulating and invigorating. Am I in New York, London, or Las Vegas?
People who can afford it go there to have a good time, as at any club, bar or house party. But Pangaea will tell you it does it better.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal's wealth magazine stirred up discussion with its vivid depiction of excess at this club. As someone who has had a peek inside, I would warn people not to take it at face value.
The majority of its clientele appeared to have more in common with me than the Eduardo Saverins of the world - most seemed firmly middle-income, salaried professionals likely to spend on a few glasses of gin and tonic, rather than a 10-bottle train of Cristal champagne.
In fact, the total hit for a mere mortal like me that night was less than $80 - for a $40 cover charge and two drinks. My bank account lived to fight another day.
Yet, while the picture painted by the Journal wasn't exactly what greeted me inside the club, the depiction can serve as an important warning sign. There may not yet be this parallel world of the super rich that is unrecognisable to the ordinary Singaporean but there are signs that the country is developing a new type of wealth.
It is a wealth marked by a penchant for extreme, in-your-face conspicuous consumption.
Singapore has always had its share of the very rich but they did not care to flaunt it. People like banker Wee Cho Yaw and the late real estate tycoon Ng Teng Fong lived modest lives in public despite accumulating huge fortunes in their lifetimes.
The implicit understanding, embodied also by our political leaders, was for the rich and powerful to lead a lifestyle of prudence and simplicity.
One extreme example is former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose spartan lifestyle included wearing the same jacket for 20 years.
That sensitivity preserved a sense of unity in society despite rapid income growth and the rise in the number of millionaires.
But somewhere along the line, that changed. As Singaporeans wanted more excitement and more opportunities in the city, it also attracted different people, lifestyles and values into society. The Government decided to push Singapore as a wealth management hub. It built the integrated resorts. Then more clubs and bars opened, the waterfront at Fullerton was developed and Marina Bay has been transformed into a dazzling spectacle.
In a decade, Singapore went from frumpy to sexy.
But with that emerged also a newer and younger generation, with an obsession for more "bling". Where Singapore's old money was frugal, low-key and respectful, Singapore's new money is more flashy and arrogant. It is at risk of unleashing a potion of envy that can poison any society.
British philosopher John Stuart Mill described envy as "the most anti-social and odious of all passions". Envy knows no reason, it is a visceral and irrational feeling that no amount of charts and statistics can temper. Even if the income gap were to narrow with aggressive measures to lift wages at the bottom, increase productivity and raise taxes at the top, I wonder if it will be enough to temper the feelings of envy that could come from this flaunting of wealth.
A study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology on conspicuous consumption and its effects on satisfaction found that as the number of Ferraris and Porsches increased in Switzerland, it caused a decrease in the level of income satisfaction. That means people felt less happy with themselves just by seeing more expensive cars on the road. Now imagine that in a dense city state of five million people.
Much more destructive than the economics of inequality is the politics of envy.
chanckr@sph.com.sg
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Apr 07, 2013
Posh nightclubs, Porsches and the politics of envy
By Robin Chan Political Correspondent
I entered Pangaea last year, dressed in what I thought was a pretty sharp outfit - a Uniqlo T-shirt and jeans I had bought, all for under $80.
Yet, I felt like I had committed a crime, as the girl at the door of what is billed as Singapore's most exclusive club scanned me from top to bottom with distinct disapproval.
When I was eventually let through, it was as if I had cheated St Peter to slip through the Pearly Gates. The music was thumping. The women had squeezed into their tightest dresses. The bottle service was in full swing.
Known for its trademark safari theme, Pangaea had that feel all right - I was in a reserve of the well-heeled, where the privileged could preen and frolic in their exclusive and natural habitat.
Owner Michael Ault has called the club the ultimate house party for the world's glitterati - where exclusivity and top service come at an exorbitant premium. It can be, at the same time, severely discombobulating and invigorating. Am I in New York, London, or Las Vegas?
People who can afford it go there to have a good time, as at any club, bar or house party. But Pangaea will tell you it does it better.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal's wealth magazine stirred up discussion with its vivid depiction of excess at this club. As someone who has had a peek inside, I would warn people not to take it at face value.
The majority of its clientele appeared to have more in common with me than the Eduardo Saverins of the world - most seemed firmly middle-income, salaried professionals likely to spend on a few glasses of gin and tonic, rather than a 10-bottle train of Cristal champagne.
In fact, the total hit for a mere mortal like me that night was less than $80 - for a $40 cover charge and two drinks. My bank account lived to fight another day.
Yet, while the picture painted by the Journal wasn't exactly what greeted me inside the club, the depiction can serve as an important warning sign. There may not yet be this parallel world of the super rich that is unrecognisable to the ordinary Singaporean but there are signs that the country is developing a new type of wealth.
It is a wealth marked by a penchant for extreme, in-your-face conspicuous consumption.
Singapore has always had its share of the very rich but they did not care to flaunt it. People like banker Wee Cho Yaw and the late real estate tycoon Ng Teng Fong lived modest lives in public despite accumulating huge fortunes in their lifetimes.
The implicit understanding, embodied also by our political leaders, was for the rich and powerful to lead a lifestyle of prudence and simplicity.
One extreme example is former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose spartan lifestyle included wearing the same jacket for 20 years.
That sensitivity preserved a sense of unity in society despite rapid income growth and the rise in the number of millionaires.
But somewhere along the line, that changed. As Singaporeans wanted more excitement and more opportunities in the city, it also attracted different people, lifestyles and values into society. The Government decided to push Singapore as a wealth management hub. It built the integrated resorts. Then more clubs and bars opened, the waterfront at Fullerton was developed and Marina Bay has been transformed into a dazzling spectacle.
In a decade, Singapore went from frumpy to sexy.
But with that emerged also a newer and younger generation, with an obsession for more "bling". Where Singapore's old money was frugal, low-key and respectful, Singapore's new money is more flashy and arrogant. It is at risk of unleashing a potion of envy that can poison any society.
British philosopher John Stuart Mill described envy as "the most anti-social and odious of all passions". Envy knows no reason, it is a visceral and irrational feeling that no amount of charts and statistics can temper. Even if the income gap were to narrow with aggressive measures to lift wages at the bottom, increase productivity and raise taxes at the top, I wonder if it will be enough to temper the feelings of envy that could come from this flaunting of wealth.
A study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology on conspicuous consumption and its effects on satisfaction found that as the number of Ferraris and Porsches increased in Switzerland, it caused a decrease in the level of income satisfaction. That means people felt less happy with themselves just by seeing more expensive cars on the road. Now imagine that in a dense city state of five million people.
Much more destructive than the economics of inequality is the politics of envy.
chanckr@sph.com.sg