I think there’s an element of decisive estrangement in conspicuous consumption, in that it’s not sufficient to just buy expensive things, but to buy weird expensive things—to distinguish your “taste” from others, and disrupt an existing hierarchy
Hmm, that sounds like it could just be loose mentions of contemporary intellectual movements. Lacan‘ s formative period was what, 20s -40s? Macy conferences were like 1945-55 or something. Are there specific foundational concepts accepted or rejected in the point of departure?