The “Velvet Rope Economy” is Dividing Humanity Between the Have-Nots and the Have-Yachts
This book explains why the widening gap between rich and poor is a direct threat to our public spaces, and our shared humanity as well
In the near future, society will be divided between the have-nots and the have-yachts. Between the people who have just enough, and the people who have more than they could ever need or spend.
Even though we are lifting people out of extreme poverty at an unprecedented rate, the very wealthiest people in the world are also adding to their riches at an unprecedented rate, and the theory is that this is going to continue to cause big, potentially harmful changes in the economic landscape going forward.
With that in mind, Nelson Schwartz’s book, The Velvet Rope Economy, is about the increasing split between the segment of consumers that are willing and able to pay for extra privileges and accommodations, and those who will have to take what they can get in this two-tier system.
This is a challenging book, not for it’s difficulty level or language, but simply because it forces you to think deeply about what this trend could mean for our public spaces and how we relate to each other as individuals.
