[lbo-talk] Making beautiful stuff

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

Doug:
> My god. Gucci's don't go for $3,000 - that's 5-10 times too high
> <http://www.gucci.com/us/us-english/us/spring-summer-05/womens-
> shoes/view_all_pumps.shtml>.
> In any case, I'm aware of how much stuff costs. My office is in Soho,
> and I'm here almost every day, surrounded by luxury goods, in
> boutiques and on people. Yeah, sure, there's conspicuous consumption
> going on, at highly inflated prices. But the stuff is still beautiful
> - why deny that? Why shouldn't socialists and their ideological kin
> want beautiful things for everyone, and not  just the rich? Why not
> beautiful buildings, streets, cities? Why always the moralizing about
> pricetags?

Ditto.  There is also another angle to look at this: grossly overpriced
luxury goods are, after, all, a wealth redistribution mechanism.  The rich
pay more than they get in return.

Wojtek