Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence
Rachel Sherman
Last annotated on Thursday November 16, 2017
182 Highlight(s) | 142 Note(s)
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INTRODUCTION
Note:INTRO@@@@@@@@
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large prewar apartment
Note:CASA
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second home
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children attend a prestigious private school.
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part-time personal assistant as well as a nanny-housekeeper and occasionally a personal chef.
Note:SERVITÙ
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travel in business class,
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Scott worked in finance
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supports nonprofits,
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an active role on the board of his children’s school.
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works for pay only occasionally,
Note:LA MOGLIE CASALINGA
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it’s something to hide.’”
Note:LA RICCHEZZA X IL RAGAZZINO... NASCONDERE
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he became a leftist
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a “secret rich guy”
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abuses of workers’ rights.
Note:LO SCHERNO DEI COMPAGNI
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feeling uncomfortable having married into wealth.
Note:LA MOGLIE
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she had trouble spending only on herself,
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especially aware of those who had less.
Note:SENTIMENTO PREDOMINANTE
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the desire to work.
Note:IL VALORE DA INSTILKARE AI FIGLI
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feelings about their living space.
Note:CASA TROPPO GRANDE
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they believed that each of their children should have his or her own room.
Note:UN DESIDERIO COMBATTUTO
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so uncomfortable with the apartment
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when I come [home], I feel like, ‘This isn’t me.’
Note:LEI... CGE HA ORIGINI WORKING CLASS
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The conflict that ensued was, as Olivia described it, “traumatizing,” destabilizing their marriage,
Note:CASA TROPPO GRANDE...UN MILIONE DI EURO X RISTRUTTURARLA E RENDERLA MENO APPARISCENTE
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struggle was also partly about the visibility of their wealth,
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discomfort
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standing out
Note:VOGLIA DI EVITARE ASSUTAMENTE
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opulence of her home vis-à-vis those of their peers and friends, whom she described as “normal.”
Note:IL NEMICO
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awkwardness
Note:LA GOFFAGGINE DELLA RICCHEZZA
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even having kids’ friends over, there’s always this, like, inner hurdle that I have to get over.”
Note:PROBLEMA CON I COMPAGNI
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Not surprisingly, neither invited me to their home;
Note:CONTRACCOLPO
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how to set a limit on spending
Note:ALTRO PROBLEMA TIPICO
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Scott said it had taken them nearly two years to buy an air conditioner
Note:L INCUBO DI SPENDERE PER SE STESSI
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we do normal-Joe everyday stuff. We ride the trains. You know, for some reason it’s important to us to feel that way.”
Note:L IMPORTANZA DI SENTIRSI NORMALI
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annual spending had reached $800,000,
Note:IL LIVELLO OGGI
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fifty affluent and wealthy New York
Note:GLI INTERVISTATI
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wanted to know how privileged New Yorkers made choices about consumption and lifestyle—that
Note:QUEL CHE VOGLIAMO SCOPRIRE
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What counted as “real” needs versus “luxuries”?
Note:LUSSO
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how people who were benefitting from rising economic inequality experienced their own social advantages.
Note:MISURARE IL DISTACCO
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affect the life choices
Note:COME LA RICCHEZZA INCIDE
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had struggled over these decisions.
Note:LA PRIMA COSA CHE EMERGE DAGLI INTERV
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how much money it was acceptable to spend, and on what.
Note:DILEMMA
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Was it okay to spend a thousand dollars on a dress? Two thousand on a purse? Half a million on a home renovation?
Note:ESEMPIO
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what kind of people they would be
Note:IL PROBLEMA NN È SE POSSIAMO PERMETTERCELO MA....
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When a stay-at-home mother paid for a lot of babysitting, for example, was she “a snob”?
Note:DILEMMA
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Did a couple with tens of millions in assets have to live with a sofa they hated because it felt “wasteful” to change it?
Note:DILEMMA
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my interviewees criticized excess and self-indulgence while praising prudence
Note:ESITO INTERVISTE
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How could these affluent parents give their children high-quality (usually private) education and other advantages without spoiling them?
Note:ALTRO DILEMMA
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How could those who did not earn money be recognized for contributing to their households?
Note:ALTRO DILEMMA
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trouble talking about money and were conflicted about spending it.
Note:CONFERMA DI ALTRI PROFESSIONISTI CHE LAVORANO CON I RICCONI
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how to be both wealthy and morally worthy,
Note:VOGLIA DI ESSERE BUONI
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CLASS INEQUALITIES AND IMAGINARIES IN THE UNITED STATES
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United States imagines itself as egalitarian.
Note:IMMAGINARIO
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“American Dream” narrative
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taboo on explicit conversations about class and money,
Note:ARGOMENTO SCOTTANTE
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We do talk often about one class, of course: the “middle class.”
Note:ALL INCLUSOVE CLASS
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Radical movements were decimated by anticommunist ideology
Note:RADOCALI
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international competition, outsourcing and deindustrialization, employer attacks on unions,
Note:L EMERGERE DEI SUPERRICCHI
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neoliberalism, globalization, financialization, technological innovation,
Note:ccccccc
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decline of both manufacturing jobs and union strength,
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welfare state has lost power and the social safety net has weakened.
Note:ALTR CAUSAA
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Tax policy
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dramatic increase in economic inequality
Note:CONSEGUENZA
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the top 1 percent
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CEO compensation
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Americans without college degrees have seen their incomes stagnate since the 1970s.
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The number of middle-wage jobs, such as those of bus drivers and retail clerks, has stagnated relative to others as job growth has occurred mostly at the top and the bottom of the wage scale.
Note:SORTI DELLA CLASSE MEDIA
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The morally worthy middle class is also symbolically attached to the “Protestant ethic,” the idea that hard work and prudent consumption form the moral bedrock of American society.
Note:ETICA PROTESTANTE
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both the rich and the poor are often represented as lacking the basic values of hard work and prudence.
Note:RICCHI E POVERI NELL IMMAGINARIO
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Wealthy people have likewise been cast as both lazy and profligate, at least since 1899, when critical economist Thorstein Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class,
Note:PREGIUDIZI SUL RICCO
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“conspicuous consumption.”
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morally suspect in their materialism.
Note:ACCUSA STRISCIANTE
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Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby,
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Roaring Twenties.
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Tabloid magazines trumpet the details of celebrities’
Note:ANCORA OGGI
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buy gold-plated Apple watches for their dogs.
Note:CARICATURA SUL NY DEI RICCHI ASIATICI
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morally deficient in terms of personality and behavior. They are snobby, greedy, rude, braggy, and self-absorbed.
Note:ALTRA ETICHETTA AFFIBBIATA
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more unethical, more narcissistic, less generous, more isolated, and generally less “pro-social” than other people.
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entitled
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“the rich are different from you and me.”
Note:PREGIUDIZIO DELL ALTERITÀ
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represented as exotic,
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male entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Steve Jobs.
Note:I POCHI RITRATTI POSITIVI
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good rich people are also often seen as minimalist consumers.
Note:COME È VISTO IL RICCO BUONO
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(think of Jobs’s black mock turtleneck or Mark Zuckerberg’s gray sweatshirt).
Note:SEGNI DI UMILTÀ
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their significant philanthropic enterprises
Note:IL MARCHIO DEL BUONO
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Possessing a down-to-earth affect is another plus;
Note:ALTRO MARCHIO DEL BUONO... AVERE ABIRUDINI SEMPLICI....FARSI UNA BIRRETTA
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euphemisms such as “comfortable,” “fortunate,”
Note:COME I RICCHI CHIAMANO SE STESSI
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Because Clinton pays taxes and works hard—despite her income of well over $100 million over the previous several years—she is not “really” rich.
Note:IL VERO RICCO È SEMPRE EVASORE
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In 2011 the Occupy movement’s critique of “the 1 percent”
Note:ADDOSSO AI RICCHI
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Thomas Piketty’s 700-page book
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The language of class, especially the “working class,” appeared in political discourse
Note:IL RITORNO DELLA WC
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INVESTIGATING AFFLUENCE
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Although images of the wealthy proliferate in the media, we know very little
Note:ESPOSIZIONE APPARENTE
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difficulty of gaining access to wealthy people.
Note:PERCHE PLA CARENZA DI NOTIZIE
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privilege through social closure in elite clubs
Note:DI COSA SI PARLA DI SOLITO
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skeptical of allusions to hard work,
Note:PREGIUDIZI
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“the psychic landscape of social class,” has focused mainly on poor or working-class people or on the middle class.
Note:I POVERI SEMBRANO INTERESSARE DI PIÙ
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The postwar opening of higher education,
Note:AVVICINAMENTO
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Globalization has also both helped create a more diverse upper class
Note:DIVERSIFICAZIONE
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the rise of this belief in meritocracy
Note:LA FEDE
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New York’s levels of residential segregation by income as well as race are also among the highest in the nation.
Note:IL POSTO PRESCELTO
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two or three children,
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under 10 years
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from $250,000 to over $10 million;
Note:REDDITO
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$80,000 to over $50 million.
Note:PATRIMONIO
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median household income of the sample was about $625,000,
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median net worth was $3.25 million
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they believe in diversity, openness, and meritocracy rather than status based on birth.
Note:LA FEDE
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All were college-educated, nearly exclusively in elite institutions.
Note:ISTRUZIONE
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First, they had high levels of cultural capital. They were worldly and culturally curious. They enjoyed the arts and liked to travel; most said they valued experience more than material goods.
Note:LE TRE CARATTERISTICHE PRINCIPALI
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they were politically liberal
Note:POLITICA
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although a few located themselves to the left of the Democratic Party.
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many were economically conservative even if they voted Democratic.
Note:ECONOMIA
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not especially religious.
Note:RELIGIONE
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had been raised Catholic or Protestant;
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Jewish;
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open kitchens, often outfitted with white Carrara marble or handmade tiles; at handcrafted dining tables;
Note:AREDAMENTO CUCINA
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bathrooms with soaking tubs or steam showers,
Note:AREDAMENTO
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living rooms decorated in palettes of gold or white,
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bedrooms with expansive views of the city or the river,
Note:CAMERA
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brightly decorated children’s playrooms.
Note:CAMERETTA
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how customized these homes were and how deeply these homebuyers and renovators had thought
Note:SULLA CASA GRANDI SFORZI
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whether to have a separate dining room, whether their kids needed their own rooms or bathrooms, whether a stay-at-home mother needed an office.
Note:I PROBLEMONI
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where their children would go to school, and where they spent time on the weekends.
Note:ALTRI PROBLEMI
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customize their homes aesthetically,
Note:ESTETICA CENTRALE
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express their individual styles
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bought their homes outright or carried very small mortgages.
Note:MUTUI
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a third of these families owned or were actively shopping for second homes
Note:SECONDA CASA
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had slightly older children,
Note:CHI HA LA SECONDA
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those with younger children rented summer or weekend houses or used those of family members,
Note:AFFITTO X CHI HA FIGLI PICCOLI
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about 90 percent had done significant renovation
Note:RISTRUTTURAZIONE
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Most children attended private schools, especially after sixth grade.
Note:SCUOLA
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women usually had primary responsibility for the households,
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extensive “consumption work,”
Note:STRESS DA SPESA
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supervising and communicating with paid workers.
Note:CASALINGHE INDAFFARATISSIME
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housecleaner;
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hired nannies or babysitters on a regular basis
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professional chefs, and personal assistants
Note:ALCUNI
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financial advisors, architects, interior designers, real estate brokers,
Note:ALTRE FIGURE UTILI
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they facilitate their clients’ consumption choices;
Note:RUOLO DEI PROFESSIONISTI
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TALKING (OR NOT) ABOUT MONEY
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cultural taboo against discussing money and class,
Note:TIPICO DEGLI AMERICANI
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more private than sex,”
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“No one’s ever asked me that, honestly.…
Note:DAVANTI ALLA DOMANDA
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the strong sense from many people that they were underreporting
Note:UNDER
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Despite this discomfort, many of the people I interviewed also acknowledged that they thought about money and lifestyle issues constantly
Note:DIRE E PENSARE
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Others admitted speculating about what their friends and neighbors earned and sometimes judging friends and family members for certain kinds of spending.
Note:GIUDICARE E CLASSIFICARE
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THE ANXIETIES OF AFFLUENCE
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comfortable with their class privilege.
Note:I NATI TRA 1900 1940
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they saw themselves as pillars of that community, publicly carrying out charitable works
Note:COME SI PERPIVATO
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community participation as an attempt to justify their privilege,
Note:IERI
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these women saw themselves as “being better than other people,” expressing “a sense of moral, as well as social, superiority.”
Note:NONNI
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I was surprised at how many conflicts they expressed about spending.
Note:OGGI
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some of those I interviewed tended not even to think of themselves as socially advantaged
Note:VIA DI FUGA... CONCENTRARSI SUI PARI
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“upward-oriented,”
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explicitly indicated that they had some kind of moral concern about having wealth.
Note:LA MAGGIOR PARTE
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wanted to avoid showing their wealth to those with less.
Note:TENDENZA
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money didn’t influence how they thought about other people.
Note:PROCLAMA
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silencing and obscuring their own privilege,
Note:IL NN PARLARE DELLE PROPRIE SPESE
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a kind of “blindness”
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they struggled with themselves over the question of how to be worthy
Note:IL ROVELLO
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good people work hard.
Note:TRE CARATTERI DELLA XSONA MERITEVOLE
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prudent consumers.
Note:SECONDA
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become less prominent
Note:OGGI PERÒ IL LAVORO CONTA DI PIÙ
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they described their desires and needs as basic
Note:DI BASE
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they “could live without” their advantages
Note:DCONO
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cast themselves as “normal” people rather than “rich”
Note:TENDENZA
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“give back”—more
Note:TERZO
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“I don’t think we feel entitled to it.”
Note:MERITARSI IL PRIVILEGIO
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They clash over what kinds of needs are legitimate,
Note:È LEGITTIMO RICOSTRUIRE CASA
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want to pass these behaviors, feelings, and values on to their children.
Note:VALORI MORALI
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Parents want to raise nonmaterialistic, hard-working, nice people
Note:COME VORREBBERO I FIGLI
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they are always engaged in a competitive struggle for status or distinction,
Note:IL PRIMO PREGIUDIZIO DA SFATARE
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they are complacent about their privilege.
Note:SECONDO
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desire to be moral actors.
Note:AINVECE
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notions of what it means to be legitimately privileged.
Note:AL CENTRO
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judging “bad” wealthy people means “good” wealthy people can also exist.
Note:LA LORO SPERANZA
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it becomes hard to articulate a distributional critique rather than a behavioral one:
Note:IL COMPORTAMENTO PESA...MA QUI NN SI PARLA DI GIUSTIZIA REDI
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regardless of how nice or hardworking or charitable they are.
Note:CONTA
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VARIETIES OF EXPERIENCE
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Inheritors talked more about experiencing discomfort
Note:EREDI
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A NOTE ON JUDGMENT
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that rich people are unpleasant, greedy, competitive consumers.
PREGIUDIZIO@@@@@@@@