Actually, it sounds more like a restatement of the Theory of the Leisure Class: ...

idiopathic on April 18, 2009 | parent | context | favorite | on: Bruce Sterling: Poor folk love their cellphones

Actually, it sounds more like a restatement of the Theory of the Leisure Class:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class

(This is a wonderful book by the way, and it was recommended to me by a Chief Marketing Officer. Reading it on his recommendation was the first time I realized he was actually quite smart.)