In his major work “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste” (1979), the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu examines how taste preferences — for example for certain films, furniture, or clothing — not only reflect social differences, but also reinforce them. Starting with cultural consumption and taste in art, he analyses the interplay between socioeconomic conditions and lifestyles. A reflective approach to art, music, or fashion is closely linked to education, origin, and the possession of economic, social, and cultural capital. Bourdieu shows that “good taste” is defined by the ruling classes and used as a means of distinction (active demarcation). The main foundation of taste and behaviour is what Bourdieu describes as the habitus, an internalised system of perceptions, thoughts, and behaviours. It is the result of lifelong socialisation and virtually impossible to change.
This original edition of “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste” is currently on display in the exhibition “Milieu Things – Of Class and Taste”.
