{"product_id":"2026200017296-secondhand-the-status-seekers","title":"The Status Seekers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn postwar America, where prosperity promised equality, Vance Packard's The Status Seekers argues that beneath the surface of the American Dream lies a rigid, restless class system driven not by merit but by an insatiable hunger for social distinction. Packard chronicles how ordinary Americans — from the suburbs to the boardroom — obsessively signal their rank through consumer choices, neighbourhood selections, club memberships, and the subtle codes of taste and behaviour that quietly separate one social stratum from another. Drawing on sociology, psychology, and sharp journalistic observation, he presents a society deeply uncomfortable with its own contradictions, publicly committed to egalitarianism yet privately consumed by hierarchy.\n\nA landmark work of mid-century social criticism, The Status Seekers sits alongside Packard's earlier sensation The Hidden Persuaders as a defining indictment of post-war consumer culture. His prose is accessible yet incisive, translating academic sociological concepts into vivid, relatable portraits of American life that unsettled readers precisely because they recognised themselves in every page. Packard illustrates how the pursuit of status corrodes community, authenticity, and even personal happiness — a verdict that, decades later, feels more urgent than ever.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49210261373147,"sku":"2026200017296-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/500b176c-41bd-4e88-9f14-c167020cdba4.png?v=1788268271","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200017296-secondhand-the-status-seekers","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}