ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an outline of the form such a twofold explanation of conspicuous consumption might take. It argues that social power is an underlying, usually unobservable quality that must be signaled or advertised in order to be effective. The chapter suggests that a satisfactory Darwinian explanation of conspicuous consumption as a form of adaptive energy expenditure had two requirements. It explains why "wasting" time and energy or taking unnecessary risks has the effect of reinforcing social status. The chapter also explains how and why the often huge expenditures of time and energy associated with status reinforcement are compensated for in terms of fitness benefits. It suggests that "social status" is a relatively vague and general term which relates to a definable quality possessed by an individual such that it is perceived and acted upon by others in a social group in ways that affect the fitness of all the involved parties.
