"It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth." - BIBLE, Proverbs 20:14

"In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy." - IVAN ILLICH, Tools for Conviviality

"Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure." - THORSTEIN VEBLEN, The Theory of the Leisure Class