Book Review: Sum of Small Things

When the Rich Make Waves

Over the summer, the magazine Boat International reported that author J.K. Rowling sold a yacht. A number of magazines and news outlets had previously reported that she purchased the vessel “Amphitrite,” once owned and decorated by film star Johnny Depp, for a reported $27 million. She put it on the market less than a year later, with a list price of just over $19 million. Her willingness to lose more than $7 million on a pleasure boat that she owned for such a short time could have something to do with her one-time listing in Forbes magazine as one of the richest women in the world, with a net worth of more than $ 1 billion. She lists her reason for selling as a “private matter,” yet reading the details could make one think that millions are mere pocket change to Rowling.

In her book, The Sum of Small Things, author Elizabeth Currid-Halket mentions boats as one way that today’s rich distinguish themselves from the masses. Most Americans could not even afford to vacation on such a boat, let alone own it. At the same time, if one were to see Rowling on the street, it is unlikely that she would stand out from those around her on first glance, because most women today wear a version of the same outfit, either designer wear or clothing made to appear designer. On this point I agree with the author that because our goods are more affordable, even the economically disadvantaged individual likely owns a television and a cellphone, “distressed” jeans and a moto jacket. These things offer the appearance that all are doing well financially.

I also agree that it is the inconspicuous consumption categories that set people apart from one another. The wealthy can afford better childcare, better healthcare, better schools for their children and domestic help that gives them more time to spend on relationships. Particularly interesting to me was the chapter on mothering, which brings the gap between rich and poor into sharp focus in a way that I would guess few in our society have considered. These types of differences create societal gaps and disharmony that can be dangerous. As evidence on a grand scale, consider the Russian Revolution or the rise of Nazi Germany. I once interviewed a woman who grew up during the Great Depression, who told me that people didn’t feel their poverty then the way they do now because it was a shared experience. None of her neighbors had any money. People in her circle survived through barter, or by sharing what they had with one another. She told me, “You didn’t feel embarrassed to be wearing a dress made of flour sacks, because all of your neighbors were wearing them, too.” That line of thinking says that trouble happens when people feel that they are poor while everybody around them is better off.

If, as the author suggests, one can hide one’s financial difficulties with the outer trappings of success, it at least provides societal armor. What others cannot see is our increasing cycle of credit card debt as we fall further behind every month. Strangers cannot know who among their neighbors faces a future of poverty in their old age because they are spending for today rather than saving for tomorrow.

Currid-Halket mentions, briefly, that there are moral considerations, but though she spends a great deal of time proving her point with statistics, she comes up short in a key area–the roles that faith, hope and charity play in creating a livable world. Her overall message seems to be one that points out the dangers of selfishness, as Americans increasingly become a people protecting their own monetary futures while turning a blind eye to those who have no financial safety net. The author indicates that true happiness comes from relationships and a feeling of security when she says, “We confuse the pressure to keep up with our peers as the key to success—and by extension, happiness.” I believe this is true. But her “why” is missing a key component—that adherence to a God-centered lifestyle is the only key to true happiness and contentment. God is the elephant in the room. She expounds on the idea that goods obtained in this life are vitally important, but leaves out the reason for society’s dissatisfaction and need to have more and more—the idea that people are dissatisfied and frightened because they have no expectation of a life beyond this one.

She says that despite our growing class differences, Americans appear to be doing fine, and are in fact considered rich by the standards of many other countries. But she says our economic growth is flat. If, as the author indicates, the economic prosperity around the world is changing to a rising middle class, why is this a bad thing?  For Americans, I believe, it is because simply doing fine is not good enough. We expect to do better than our parents did, and when we can’t, we are unhappy. But having all the money in the world does not guarantee happiness either. That, I believe, comes through belief and trust in a Supreme Being.

It is interesting to note that Rowling was not always rich. Prior to the sale of her first Harry Potter book, she says she was a single mom living on welfare, someone who knows what it is to have limited expectations. She has fallen off of the billion-dollar list, again according to Forbes, in part because she has given so much money to charity. It is hard to relate to her level of wealth, but I would be willing to bet her dedication to her charity, Lumos, brings her more satisfaction than did her yacht. Currid-Halkett points this out, saying, “Research shows if we’re going to spend money we actually should spend it on others to gain any meaningful satisfaction.” Now we need to get to the point where it is not a risk for mainstream writers and journalists to bring God into the equation so that we do not have to read between the lines.