The Status Revolution: The Improbable Story of How the Lowbrow Became the Highbrow | 
panThompson clearly doesn't enjoy thinking, which is best illustrated in the chapter on rescue dogs, where he skeptically asserts that anyone who adopts a rescue dog is "virtue signaling." He ignorantly assumes that all rescue dogs have ringworm, without a single mention of "designer dogs" and their subsequent health problems.
If I wanted to read a book in which an author has no idea what they're talking about, I'd read Malcolm Gladwell.
According to a study by the London Business School and Connell University, low self-esteem is a major factor--often the primary factor--in the purchase of luxury or prestige goods. Their work shows how "individuals whose sense of self-worth was harmed sought affirmation in high-status goods."
In 2017, California passed a statewide law forbidding pet stores from selling any dog or cat not obtained from a shelter, humane society, or rescue group.
