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托斯丹·凡勃伦:有闲阶级论·摘录 70

托斯丹·凡勃伦《有闲阶级论》· The Theory of the Leisure Class · 投资

The love of nature, perhaps itself borrowed from a higher-class code of taste, sometimes expresses itself in unexpected ways under the guidance of this canon of pecuniary beauty, and leads to results that may seem incongruous to an unreflecting beholder. The well-accepted practice of planting trees in the treeless areas of this country, for instance, has been carried over as an item of honorific expenditure into the heavily wooded areas; so that it is by no means unusual for a village or a farmer in the wooded country to clear the land of its native trees and immediately replant saplings of certain introduced varieties about the farmyard or along the streets. In this way a forest growth of oak, elm, beech, butternut, hemlock, basswood, and birch is cleared off to give room for saplings of soft maple, cottonwood, and brittle willow. It is felt that the inexpensiveness of leaving the forest trees standing would derogate from the dignity that should invest an article which is intended to serve a decorative and honorific end.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/833
定位:Excerpt 70 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

对自然的热爱有时也被金钱美学带偏。比如在无树地区种树本是好事,但被当成“荣誉性开支”后,连林木茂密的地方也照搬:村民或农场主把原生的橡树、榆树、山毛榉等砍掉,再花钱种上软枫、杨树、脆柳等引进树苗。因为留着免费的原生树显得不够“有面子”,而花钱种树才显得有尊严。这背后的取舍是:为了地位信号,牺牲了生态和成本。

上下文

凡勃伦讽刺美国乡村盲目效仿植树风潮,把自然美化变成炫耀性支出。

今日一问

你见过哪些为了“有面子”而破坏原有优势的做法?

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