3 chapters across the catalog
Strategy 18 involves approaching stubborn opponents indirectly. The hosts identify "Buy Now, Pay Later" schemes and the social pressure to own an iPhone as the "soft flank" of the modern consumer. They discuss how "conspicuous consumption" and brand awareness are used to turn individuals into debt slaves for products they don't need.
Mo Facts introduces the term "conspicuous consciousness" as a modern evolution of Thorstein Veblen's "conspicuous consumption." While the latter involves buying luxury goods to display wealth, the former involves performing "wokeness" to display moral elitism. The hosts argue that this behavior is often for the benefit of the performer rather than the community, contrasting it with the "value for value" model of their own podcast.
The hosts discuss the phenomenon of being "hood rich" and the psychological impact of the racial wealth gap. They critique "conspicuous consumption," where youth use social media to project a wealthy lifestyle through luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Mo Facts argues that being around peers with similar socioeconomic status is healthier for a child's development than being thrust into extreme wealth disparity.
