Invidious distinction is a highly relevant concept when studying economies and addressing economic problems. “Invidious Distinction” is a term used by American economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) to describe the concept of social stratification and economic hierarchy that can apply to economic activities, including consumption, leisure, and labor, as well as to politics, interpersonal relations, and social norms and beliefs.

Examples of invidious distinctions include the subordinate-master signification in socio-economic relations and the treatment of nature; the organization of institutions to uphold and protect supremacy, and the exercise of domination; ownership based on exploitation and force, as well as seemingly harmless status-driven practices like conspicuous consumption, conspicuous leisure, and conspicuous waste of time and resources.

Today’s urgent challenges, inequality, deprivation, marginalization, mobility, housing, displacement, and ecological and care crises, cannot be addressed through a narrow conception of markets. These are phenomena that unfold over time and in contexts (processes). They are shaped by power, subordination, vested interests, and even predation (hierarchies of domination). They affect people’s bodies, lives, communities, and ecosystems (provisioning and deprivations of life).

Inflation is not just a matter of disequilibrium in supply and demand and too much money in the economy. There are structural processes that drive the price level changes over time. The effects of inflationary pressures are exacerbated by the restrictive and unequal provision of necessities, which explains affordability crises.

Capacity expansion in the production of semiconductors goes together with strategic restructuring of demand. There is a greater dependency on capital-intensive reproducible inputs and products and more non-discretionary consumption. This creates a potential for structural inflationary pressures.

Large businesses manage inflationary pressures by implementing high-tech improvements to reduce costs and maintain profits. Working households cannot cut costs by adding more high-tech consumption, and are constrained by social systems of provision.