ABSTRACT
What makes Bourdieu’s analysis more interesting and exceptional is the fact that his analysis of lifestyles and tastes is not restricted to the characterization of these three hierarchically ordered classes. Competition between the different groups within these classes is of special interest, too. Bourdieu is mainly interested in analysing thesocial groups whichcan be considered new in somerespect andshow an upward trajectory in social space. In particular, the new ruling class or the new bourgeoisie is presented as the vanguard of all aesthetic and ethical renewal in society. Its disposition even satisfies the demands of economic development. By eagerly adopting this disposition, the members of the new middle class help both to legitimate and to spread it through society. Its members are ideal consumers. They cherish the hedonistic ethic of consumption which is based on loan taking and waste. In all essentials, this new class is the direct opposite of the classical bourgeoisie which was an ascetic saver willing to sacrifice the present for the future (see Bourdieu 1984: 310).
