| Title:
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THE IDEA OF LUXURY
A CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION |
| By: |
Christopher J. Berry, Quentin Skinner, Lorraine Daston |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| List price:
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£22.99 |
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£20.12 |
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£2.87 |
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| ISBN 10: |
0521466911 |
| ISBN 13: |
9780521466912 |
| Availability: |
Usually dispatched within 1-3 weeks.
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| Stock: |
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| Publisher: |
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS |
| Pub. date: |
16 June, 1994 |
| Series: |
Ideas in Context No.30 |
| Pages: |
292 |
| Description: |
This book analyses the idea of luxury, shows how its evaluative meaning has changed, and explores its role in the determination of social order. |
| Synopsis: |
In this far-ranging and innovative study Christopher Berry explores the meanings and ramifications of the idea of luxury. Insights from political theory, philosophy and intellectual history are utilised in a sophisticated conceptual analysis that is complemented by a series of specific historical investigations. Dr Berry suggests that the value attached to luxury is a crucial component in any society's self-understanding, and shows how luxury has changed from being essentially a negative term, threatening social virtue, to a guileless ploy supporting consumption. His analytic focus upon the interplay between the notions of need and desire suggests that luxuries fall into four categories - sustenance, shelter, clothing and leisure - and these are exemplified in sources as diverse as classical philosophy and contemporary advertising. |
| Publication: |
UK |
| Imprint: |
Cambridge University Press |
| Returns: |
Returnable |