Why the traditional leisure class no longer exists

Without a doubt, we live in the most prosperous times in human history. Even low income earners in our society have access to luxuries and comforts far greater than those even 50 years ago. The age of technology has overall, made the lives of everyone better. That being said, levels of inequality in this day are higher than they have been for the past 90 years or so. The concept of the "Leisure Class" as discussed by Thorstein Veblen highlighted a social group existing in opulence in the 19th century. However the existence of this class in the 21st century has diminished and no longer exists (with exception).

The Leisure class is a group of individuals that live in a life of opulence and excess but work little to achieve such luxuries. The concept is based from feudal times with the wealth of aristocracy not being earned, but leading to lives of lavish consumption. Leading into the modern era, with the industrial revolution, the leisure class could be described as the new heads of industry, who own the means of production. However while their life styles may have been classified as "leisurely", one may argue that leisure class is dead. The industry creating the most billionaires is investment, with examples of George Soros and Warren Buffet standing out. These individuals created their wealth themselves, working hard in the process. While they may lead lives of comfort now, the journey to this place took work. Entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are icons of extreme wealth. They created their own fortunes through a mixture of lucky and ingenious ideas. The new uber rich in most cases created their fortunes themselves through work, thus in my opinion, do not classify as the leisure class. The amount of years of work that were needed to lead to these fortunes, show that in today's world, wealth isn't necessarily a right given to a group who squander it in frivolous enjoyment, but through creating new concepts or clever investment strategies.

That being said, those on top still enjoy a level of comfort and quality of life that one cannot imagine. The amount of wealth accumulated by these people is truly staggering. Significant amounts of luck can be accredited into the success of these people, but to dismiss the work put behind some of these ventures is ignorant.

The ultra rich will always exist. In 2017, the richest individuals own most of the worlds resources and capitalize on this to great success. The leisure class as described in "Conspicuous Consumption" exists only on the bare fringe of the small group of wealthy. The modern aristocracy are a small, powerless group that are just a reminder of our feudal past. The modern leisure class are those who through smart decisions, hard work and luck built fortunes that keep expanding. Their wealth is always subject to change. They spend their wealth with flare but the work required to accumulate and maintain the lifestyle makes them an elite group but not a group defined by leisure.