Democratic luxury: An oxymoron?

Abstract

The expression the ‘democratization of luxury’ has become commonplace and as such its meaning is rarely, if ever, investigated. I acknowledge that its very commonplaceness would seem to demonstrate that it is a mere façon de parler to which too much weight should not be given. Nonetheless, I believe that an investigation of the assumptions that underlie the phrase, and the phenomenon it seemingly captures, is potentially worthwhile, as evidenced by the fact that its usage is not uniform, being subject to both negative and neutral interpretations. This brief article is also a gesture towards my making-amends for my own passing, non-inquisitive casual second-hand use of the term. Finally, I advert briefly to its bearing on my own conceptual analysis.