奢華指非必要但可為人類帶來愉悅享受、昂貴不易得、或奢侈的事物或環境。大多歐洲語言中,奢華一詞(如英文 luxury)都源於拉丁語 luxuria,指「過剩」或「生活中額外之物」,是「衣食足」以外的消費行為。[1]

日本桃山文化「豪華絢爛」風格的二條城唐門奢華雕飾
明清宮廷奢華家具

奢華的世界史

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凡爾賽宮中裝修奢華的鏡廳
 
凡爾賽宮中裝修奢華的國王寢宮
 
大克里姆林宮內裝修奢華的聖安德烈大廳
 
葉卡捷琳娜宮中裝修奢華的琥珀廳

在歐洲啟蒙歷史前後的脈絡下,奢華一直是巴洛克式與洛可可式的國家重要組成部分,嵌鑲於當時社會的政經邏輯中,也就是以君主宮廷的喜好花費為中心的社會來產出相關的經濟活動。然而在18世紀,奢華受不同的政經邏輯影響,當奢華隨著財富的中心漸從宮廷移往城市時,其活動同時刺激並表達了消費活動的興起,進行將消費者和物件商品的新關係擴散於各地[2]

世界史學家及中國研究學者卜正民將美洲大陸的發現和北美的探索和歐洲奢華消費的海狸毛皮連結起來,由於歐洲海狸近乎絕跡,而歐洲人槍砲的技術發展,讓歐洲奢華消費能在北美找到新原料[3]

奢華的政經理論

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蘇格蘭啟蒙運動思想家對於奢華和經濟活動的關係存有不同看法,伯納德·曼德維爾將奢華合理化成有效的經濟需求,而大衛·休謨則區分壞的奢華和無辜的奢華,支持後者對國家產業繁榮有幫助。詹姆斯·斯圖亞特主張在對外貿易和內地貿易的初期階段鼓勵公民之間的奢華,但要將那些會降低人民活力及生產力的奢華排除在外[4]

奢華的社經理論

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美國經濟學家和社會學家托斯丹·范伯倫炫耀性消費理論,認為奢侈品及其商雖無功能性但標示消費者的社會地位,也就是消費者透過物質財富的佔有,來展示其高人一等的社會地位[5]

參考書目

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  1. ^ 原來 (美術). 風格四論:生活美學與形象競爭力 生活美學與形象競爭力. 新銳文創. 1 October 2012: 4. ISBN 978-986-5915-12-4 (中文(臺灣)). 奢華(luxury),在《新世紀經典美語大辭典》第四版的定義為:1.非必要但能帶來愉悅及舒適的事物;2.昂貴或不易獲得的事物;3.奢侈的生活或周遭環境。在拉丁語luxuria的原意是「過剩」或「生活中額外之物」,這不是人類的基本的生理需求,這是「衣食足」之後的消費行為。 
  2. ^ Michel Delon. Luxury. Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. Routledge: 783–786. 4 December 2013. ISBN 978-1-135-95998-2 (英语). Luxury has been part and parcel of the baroque state, being embedded in the logic of societies centered on monarchical courts that generated economies based on eccentric spending. In the 18th century, however, luxury was subject to a different logic, as it developed alongside the slow shift in centers of wealth from the courts toward the cities, and simultaneously stimulated and expressed a rise in consumption and the spread of a new relationship of consumers to objects. 
  3. ^ 卜正民. 維梅爾的帽子 從一幅畫看十七世紀全球貿易. 遠流出版事業股份有限公司. 2009. ISBN 978-957-32-6452-1. 
  4. ^ Tatsuya Sakamoto; Hideo Tanaka. The Rise of Political Economy in the Scottish Enlightenment. Routledge. 27 June 2005: 154. ISBN 978-1-134-43551-7 (英语). On luxury we can see two strands of opinion among thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. One view was that luxury could contribute to economic development, which means luxury as effective demand. For example, Mandeville justified it in this way; Hume distinguished bad luxury from innocent luxury and supported the latter for the prosperity of national industries; and Steuart encouraged luxury among citizens in the nascent stages of foreign trade and inland trade, though excluding luxury which decreases the vitality of people and their productive power. Here the innocent luxury, different from the bad effects of luxury such as indolence, sensuality, corruption, prostitution and perdition, was accepted favourably, since it was a representative phenomenon of a polished and civilized society, and also an indication of the quantity of effective demand. 
  5. ^ Barton Carl Beebe; Madhavi Sunder. The Luxury Economy and Intellectual Property Critical Reflections. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. 1 September 2015: 33. ISBN 978-0-19-933570-1 (英语). Called the "Velben effect" after the American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, this nonfunctional and status-signalling effect of luxury trademarks has been generally explained by recalling people's desire to signal wealth and social status "by conspicuous consumption," that is, by showing the possession of material wealth through products indicating superior social standing, such as the luxury products identified by these marks. 

參見

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