"Our specific purpose is to explore whether and how objects pass from alienable to inalienable status across generations of middle-class families in North America," explains Carolyn Curasi of Georgia State University and her colleagues. "We are interested in the metamorphosis of individuals' cherished possessions into families' inalienable objects--possessions kin believe to be irreplaceable, sacred, and kept from the market."
The authors stress that while the phenomenon of passing items from generation to generation is not a new one and has been studied in some detail, the issue of how this is happening in such a market-driven society has not been approached.
"Our findings raise a provocative question of whether middle-class North American families would be worse off without inalienable wealth. Our informants perceive inalienable wealth as beneficial by keeping family units more cohesive, providing family identity, making status distinctions, and representing moral and religious values," the authors contend.
From: How Individuals' Cherished Possessions Become Families' Inalienable Wealth (CAROLYN FOLKMAN CURASI, LINDA L. PRICE, and ERIC J. ARNOULD).
Journal
Journal of Consumer Research