Editing Thorstein Veblen (section)

===Conspicuous leisure===
{{Main|Conspicuous leisure}}
''Conspicuous leisure'', or the non-productive use of time for the sake of displaying [[social status]], is used by Veblen as the primary indicator of the [[leisure class]]. To engage in conspicuous leisure is to openly display one's wealth and status, as productive work signified the absence of pecuniary strength and was seen as a mark of weakness. As the leisure class increased their exemption from productive work, that very exemption became honorific and actual participation in productive work became a sign of inferiority. Conspicuous leisure worked very well to designate social status in rural areas, but urbanization made it so that conspicuous leisure was no longer a sufficient means to display [[Pecuniary emulation|pecuniary]] strength. Urban life requires more obvious displays of status, wealth, and power, which is where conspicuous consumption becomes prominent.{{sfn|Parker|Sim|1997|pp=368–369}}