The Vice of Luxury: Economic Excess in a Consumer Age by David Cloutier (review)

Is my desire for granite countertops and matching stainless steel appliances in my kitchen problematic? Can one be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ while driving a Lexus? Should Christians purchase only organic milk, fruits, and vegetables even if they are more expensive than nonorganic alternatives? On what theo-ethical grounds would one begin to construct an answer to these questions? David Cloutier argues in The Vice of Luxury that it is not enough for Christians to address issues of poverty and economic inequalities without attention to the “disposition to luxury” that has become commonplace among middle-class and wealthy Americans.

The argument proceeds in two parts. Part 1 sets up the foundations for later chapters through a rigorous examination of the disciplines of philosophy, theology, and economics to uncover why and how the critique of luxury became sidelined to the point that today many Christians do not even recognize material self-indulgence as a vice. One cannot do justice to the precision and depth of the argument in so brief a review as this. Cloutier surveys luxury in history, explains why we have such an impoverished ethical language in relation to consumption of material goods, and examines the roots of this failure. A key section is chapter 4, which engages economics by challenging the argument that “the market would suffer” if consumers reduced their spending. While the chapters in part 1 include dense analysis of major thinkers from Plato to Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, Cloutier’s treatment is clear and nuanced. Nonspecialists or readers uninterested in these foundational thinkers could skip ahead to part 2 for Cloutier’s proposal of a contemporary casuistry of spending choices.

Part 2 begins with Cloutier’s own definition of luxury: “the disposition of using surplus resources for inordinate consumption of private goods and services in search of ease, pleasure, novelty, convenience, or status” (180). Chapters 6 and 7 examine our contemporary social context, arguing that 40 percent of Americans have significant surplus income. The question is what they should do with this surplus so that families can live “in comfort without luxury,” and what prudential judgments might inform the achievement of this mean. Chapter 8 constructs “a positive moral language to specify our prudent use of excess resources.” Four categories of goods are described in an effort to create a “spirituality of possessions”: shared goods, festival goods, vocational goods, and enrichment goods (255–68).

The Vice of Luxury links virtue and economic ethics in a compelling argument that makes careful distinctions about what luxury goods should be resisted and what might be morally good choices. Cloutier seeks to avoid what he calls the “Francis of Assisi problem,” which is an “all or nothing” temptation by which Christians are told that they either must give away all they have and live in voluntary poverty, or just live like everyone else (10). Instead, he forges a middle way that creates a framework for considering luxury as a vice (understood both personally and socially). The virtue of prudence can guide the believer to recognize luxury and decide, in particular circumstances, how best to resist it or on what grounds to choose what Cloutier terms a “sacramental” purchase—a new category of economic transactions that figures out “how to do the most good connecting ourselves with others through our purchases.” These purchases are justified because they secure wage justice for workers, or because the products do a better job of protecting the environment, or because they foster social welfare. Cloutier aligns this “sacramental shopping” with Pope Benedict XVI’s approach to “civilizing the economy” (137–38).

The book draws on the publications of many members of the Society, including Daniel Finn; Jennifer Herdt; James Keenan, SJ; and William Mattison. It would be most useful to scholars in the fields of theological ethics, moral philosophy, and economic ethics. The book would be an excellent supplemental text in a doctoral seminar on...