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).