Is extravagance immoral? One of the world’s most expensive sandwiches has divided social media. Some call it an outrage, but others say everyone benefits when the rich splash the cash.
X
Next
The sandwich that some people pay £28 for
Is extravagance immoral? One of the world's most expensive sandwiches has divided social media. Some call it an outrage, but others say everyone benefits when the rich splash the cash.
X
PreviousNext
Take two slices of sourdough. Layer it with black truffle butter, "gold" mustard mayonnaise, mushrooms, and a kind of steak that can only be sourced from four breeds of cow from one region of Japan.1 What do you get? A sandwich fit for a king - or anyone else willing to fork out £28.
At roughly £2.50 a bite, it is little wonder that the new HarrodsA large, expensive department store in London. beef sandwich is making waves on social media, both for those who think it criminal to sell a sandwich for almost twice the average hourly wage - and for others who just wonder how it tastes.
But the sandwich has also breathed new life into an age-old debate: is luxury immoral?
This idea dates back to ancient Rome, where the wealthy frequently used their riches to put on games and races for the lower orders. People criticised them for this because they recognised it as a way of buying the support of the people.
Early Christians were strongly opposed to this luxury. Jesus told his followers, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."2
But as the Church became established in Europe, it gave in to the siren call of luxury. It amassed more and more wealth and used it to put up stunning cathedrals as signs of its power and glory.
Many philosophers throughout history feared that luxury corrupted people's personal morality. Jean-Jacques RousseauAn 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature. claimed that men who indulged themselves became soft and effeminateA word used to describe men who act in a way stereotypical to women. It has been used as a derogatory term. .3
Others worried about its effects on the morality of society. Adam SmithAn 18th-Century Scottish economist often known as the "father of economics". thought that people only treated each other morally because they saw others as being like them.4
But if some people got too rich, they might no longer see the poor as human beings like themselves, and might stop treating them in a moral way.
But others have claimed that extravagance can be a good thing for everyone. In the early 18th Century, Dutch philosopher Bernard MandevilleA Dutch-born philosopher who lived most of his life in England. His most famous work is The Fable of the Bees, in which he argues that immoral behaviour is good for the public. suggested that the greedier people were, the richer everyone would get.5
To make an extravagant mansion, he argued, you would need to hire hundreds of workers to design and build it. So decadence was the source of their employment and wages. Really, it was good for everyone.
X
Previous
Is extravagance immoral?
Yes: Around 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger. Yet people are spending £28 on a sandwich. In a just world, people would not be allowed to waste money like this.6
No: The wagyu sandwich provides employment for farmers, butchers, makers of mayonnaise, and truffle pigs. It is good for the whole of society.
Or... Extravagance does not have to be the preserve of the rich. Some believe in "private sufficiency, public luxury": the idea we should all individually have just enough, but have access to glorious public spaces.7
Keywords
Harrods - A large, expensive department store in London.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - An 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature.
Effeminate - A word used to describe men who act in a way stereotypical to women. It has been used as a derogatory term.
Adam Smith - An 18th-Century Scottish economist often known as the "father of economics".
Bernard Mandeville - A Dutch-born philosopher who lived most of his life in England. His most famous work is The Fable of the Bees, in which he argues that immoral behaviour is good for the public.
The sandwich that some people pay £28 for
Over the top? Despite the name, there is no real gold in the mustard mayonnaise in the Harrods sandwich. Glossary
Harrods - A large, expensive department store in London.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - An 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose book Reveries of the Solitary Walker extolled the virtues of being alone in nature.
Effeminate - A word used to describe men who act in a way stereotypical to women. It has been used as a derogatory term.
Adam Smith - An 18th-Century Scottish economist often known as the "father of economics".
Bernard Mandeville - A Dutch-born philosopher who lived most of his life in England. His most famous work is The Fable of the Bees, in which he argues that immoral behaviour is good for the public.