"Bobos in Paradise"

Paper Summary:

This is a book review of David Brooks' book, "Bobos in Paradise:The New Upper Class and How They Got There." This paper examines David Brooks' concept of the "Bobo," a compound of bourgeois and bohemian, which is the new emerging class of the millennium. This class is made up of bankers, baby boomers and the new generation that is running the billion dollar dot-com industries. The author also points out several weaknesses in Brooks' thesis, and traces this back to his own background which makes him biased in his writing about "Bobos."

From the Paper:

"Till there it is okay. But the problem starts when Brooks attempts to give authenticity to this newfound culture with all its new sense of taste and style. He starts appreciating the Bobo culture because of its "sober" bourgeois achievement, which takes into it the creative, and the spontaneous element of the sixties. On one level he scoffs at those Bobos who think $ 10K outdoor Jacuzzi is crass but $20K slate shower reflects simple rhythm of life. Yet on another level he appreciates this new upper class style which is based on the display of sufficient taste to know what the best is and to choose it--whether the best coffee, the best food, the best building materials, or whatever. He has his full support for them who find that it is not okay to spend extravagantly on something for display along; it is okay to spend extravagantly on something that is useful in enhancing one's authentic personality."

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