[lbo-talk] Planet Bulgari, Age of 5-Star Restaurants

Wojtek S wsoko52 at gmail.com
Mon Aug 15 12:14:03 PDT 2011


RE: "The kitchen staff at the Ledbury went beyond their call of duty by rushing up from the kitchen with rolling pins, fry baskets, and other dangerous kitchen tools and scared off the looters. Then they provided well-needed glasses of alcohol including champagne and whisky. When word came that the looters were coming back a second time, they ushered us into the bathrooms and told us to lock the doors. A few minutes later, they led us into the wine cellar and told us to lock ourselves in there."

[WS:] This reminds me of the scene in Bertolucci's flic "The Last Emperor" in which inmates show deference to the ex-emperor (serving time for collaboration with the Japanese) and perform various prison chores for him.

This illustrates what many sociologists know - that mere inequality will not led to the dissent as long as the subordinate classes perceive that inequality as legitimate. More than that, they will often defend that inequality, seemingly against their own economic interest. Otherwise, the kitchen staff would have locked themselves in the wine cellar, leaving their upper class customers to themselves.

Wojtek



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