What does the phrase cheap show-off mean? Show off. What is it and why do they get thrown? Show-off as a behavior

A huge SUV, a selfie from the beach, a luxurious wedding and a new iPhone earned with your body. Modern beggars are easy to recognize by their show off. Previously, everyone wanted to live well, but now everyone is showing off that they are living well.

“She always had some endless illusions in her head (drilled into her head by her mother, a former party boss) about how wonderfully she should live in the future. A sort of complete dolce vita with flights on private jets from Paris to Milan, with princes in white limousines and other attributes of low-budget Hollywood fairy-tale films.” Spiritless.

Surely you have many such acquaintances, modern beggars who lay claim to the luxurious life of a Hollywood star?

TV, magazines and the Internet have corrupted the modern generation. They cannot live like in Hollywood, but they imitate the luxurious life of celebrities. The main thing for modern youth now is to show off. People indulge their sense of self-importance (SEI) by buying and doing things that they cannot afford or to their detriment.

Expensive car. Office plankton likes to pose as wealthy people and businessmen. Poor people buy a huge SUV, a luxury car or a sports car. They take out cars on credit that they need to show off and increase their profitability.

Brand new iPhone. It doesn’t matter how much you earn and where you need to spend your money first. Any modern fashionable chick buys an iPhone. She will eat Doshirak, save her last money, and take out a loan. Or maybe he will compromise with morality. Among people from eastern countries there is such fashionable fun. They go to the bathhouse in a group, but before that they buy an iPhone and take the willing girl to the bathhouse. So another chick gets a brand new iPhone, which she has “used up.”

Dear weddings. This is the sin of narrow-minded people from the plebeian strata. They need to show that they are no worse than others. They take out loans, borrow from parents or spend their last savings on a luxurious wedding. After this, the poor live from hand to mouth and cannot buy anything for themselves for a long time. But they showed it to others! Let them envy!

Expensive phones. Who has the most powerful phones? Theoretically, for businessmen. But in reality, schoolchildren buy such phones most of all. Schoolchildren beg their parents for fancy smartphones just to show off to their friends. Why do you need such an expensive phone? Exclusively for games and show-offs.

Selfie from the beach. If you haven’t flown to Egypt or Europe on vacation, then you’re a loser. Where are the photos from foreign resorts? Didn't post it in social media vacation photos? You are poor and a loser. Many girls ride almost all year round on different beaches. Whether they spent their last money or became the kept women of rich daddies is another question.

The problem of modern beggars

Poor people are always unhappy because they have to imitate a luxurious life. They constantly think about how they look from the outside. What will others say? Poor people take out loans, live from hand to mouth, and some sell themselves and their bodies. Poor people spend all their resources on showing off, rather than on improving their lives and achieving happiness.

People may not have an apartment, but they buy cars, phones, travel packages, and things from expensive brands. Why these rotten show-offs? A self-sufficient person does not need all this. He doesn't try to increase his importance by buying things and displaying a luxurious lifestyle.

When a person is at peace with himself, he does not need to prove anything. He's confident. He has different values, goals and dreams.

1 Most of our citizens have heard the word “Show-off” more than once, but what is Ponty and what they are “eaten with” cannot be answered by everyone. If you ask the question out of interest, what does Ponty mean? Almost everyone will start bleating: " Well, this is the state of a person when he...". It should be understood that in ordinary life these terms carry a clear negative meaning; there are no such people in Russia that at least once I would not use this jargon in my conversation. Read some more interesting publications on the topic of Internet jargon, for example, what Light means, how to understand the word Likedrocher, what Like means, what Lagi is, etc.
So, show off or show off is?

In fact, show-off is the behavior of a person when he tries stand out from the crowd, and in most cases it looks rather disgusting. From time immemorial, people have boasted about their real or imaginary successes, their wealth, and this happens in our time. Usually a person brags about his material capabilities.

Show off- this is cool. Showing off is showing people around you what you have achieved in this life. For example, showing off your credit car. Such ponto cutters have never been loved and are not loved


Sometimes, people who do not have material values, but who still want to stand out, begin to show off their education or intelligence. For such citizens, the people came up with a weighty word - “to be smart.” Over time, show-offs began to unite those who boast of their financial situation with those who stick out their intelligence.

Citizens of any social status and income show off. In fact, according to most people, their show-off should enhance their social status. Some may ask: " In general, why do you need to show off??".

Reasons for showing off

First reason. Make a lasting impression on surrounding citizens. To do this, a certain aura of demand and success is created around oneself, and in some unknown way a subconscious rise in one’s rating occurs. It is very important for some people to appear more "cool" than they really are. The greater the external rating an individual has, the more he captures the minds of other, less successful citizens. For example, an idea expressed by a famous politician or a movie star will be more significant than the same thoughts expressed by a simple, unknown engineer.

The second reason. Repetition of one's distinctive features and reproduction of merits gives the individual greater confidence in his abilities. In most cases, psychologists noted that it is precisely those individuals who show off who are not confident in self-importance. You shouldn't take show-offs very seriously. It is worth noting one more detail: if there is too much show-off, the attitude towards such a person can become negative, causing severe irritation and rejection.

Show off usually cause envy, and this feeling, as we know, can be a detonator of unpleasant events. You can hear several expressions with the word pont that should be clarified.

Show off- this is to point out facts that will arouse respect and admiration from the interlocutor; a synonym for the expression can be called “show off.”

Cheap show-offs- this is a mention of such events and facts that only cause irritation and bewilderment, as something of little significance, in fact, this is unfounded boasting.

However, show-off in some cases is a very useful thing. After all, having learned to present your show-off intelligently, you can express yourself in a good way. However, do not forget to show off in a politically correct and very tactful manner.

You have probably noticed more than once people who have the keys to their car in their hands, in this way they unobtrusively demonstrate their status, in addition, it would be a good idea to show others an expensive model of your phone. In addition, in a conversation you can casually mention a service that you completely disinterestedly provided to your friend. colleague/relative/friend. Such show-offs do not particularly irritate anyone and are a completely decent act.

However, it’s a completely different situation when, in a conversation, a person begins to throw around words like: “ yesterday I lit a cigarette from a hundred dollar bill”, “for me 1000 dollars is not money”, “I wanted an expensive phone, but I couldn’t find one more expensive than 20,000 dollars, I’m a beggar to buy this model?".

An interesting point, although the words “show off” and “show off” have a negative meaning then such adjectives as “pontovo” and “pontovy” express quite positive emotions.

Example:

Kolyan bought a car, it's the latest model, it looks awesome!

Jeans with pin rolls look cool.

This jacket is awesome!

IN the above examples, the speaker believes that these things are good, high quality and look great. However, this word can also be used in a negative sense.

Example:

You have a smartphone that's kind of useless!

From this we can conclude that in one case these expressions can be both annoying and useless, and very effective and practical. Distinctive features its subtlety and neatness can be considered a positive show off. Your interlocutor should not guess that they are “throwing a show-off” at him. And most importantly, you must exclude even a hint of envy in his feelings. After all, if your show-off turns out to be very powerful, and your opponent feels uncomfortable with your “coolness,” then his reaction to your boasting will be irritation or a contemptuous grin. We recommend showing off using sarcasm, jokes, jokes, and mentioning facts in the context of a funny situation.

That’s actually the whole answer to the question of what a show-off is. It remains to add that “showing off” for people is the same natural feature as an expression: " I am the best!". Therefore, when you praise yourself, do not forget to do it wisely, so as not to cause envy and irritation in your interlocutor.

Modern weddings tend to be depressing. They resemble a conveyor belt. Among Russians as a whole, their imagination has atrophied and their sense of style has disappeared. The very desire to search for style, to find one’s own “I” among the gray everyday life is gone, evaporated. The same type of brides and grooms move along the conveyor belt. At the happiest moment for many, when a family is created, the future is born, a person chooses an already established model of behavior. Cliché instead of imagination.

Main marriage mass tradition recent years- ride in limousines. Just a few years ago there were almost no limousines in St. Petersburg, maybe one or two. They said that socialite Kirkorov was driving a white Hummer limousine. Then it was nonsense, bohemian show-off. Now the whole city is filled with these cars, which are easily rented out by numerous companies.

A young couple reaches for a long white tin on four wheels. Having sat down in, they will feel like masters of the situation, very cool guys. At least once in their life, at a wedding, they will feel rich and successful, almost like the Abramovichs and Rockefellers. Then a honeymoon awaits them, after which the young couple will plunge into everyday work, into the whirlpool of routine and everyday life.

At the wedding, this important point, people usually project their desires, their dreams. And these dreams, frankly, lead to a stupor. How the average Russian strives for wealth, money, luxury! It's paradoxical, but in modern Russia, where there is gross inequality and a colossal gap between the poor majority and the super-rich minority, people are so drawn to ostentatious hoarding and bad taste. Wanting to become a master, even for a wedding day, a person only emphasizes the fact that he is a serf. Russian wedding ceremonies reveal (sometimes unconsciously) the deep serf complexes of people, the desire not to free themselves from the framework of “rich-poor”, “major-sucker”, but only to occupy a high position in this coordinate system.

Of course, not all newlyweds are like this. There are young spouses who understand the absurdity of what is happening. But there is a social environment - relatives, friends. I don’t want to go beyond the limits, so the happy couple will still have the usual procedures. How else? What are we, not like all normal people? The speeches of the toastmaster and other wedding laughers are generally a monument to modern philistinism (however, what is the demand, so is the supply). In addition to future children, the speeches of the laughing people revolve around expensive cars, luxurious life, trips abroad. For some reason, no one wants a heroic life, honest work, spiritual courage.

It’s funny, but the young groom at the wedding wants to feel not even like a real oligarch, but like an operetta bourgeois, a caricature of success. Real rich people haven't been riding in limousines for a long time. Most influential people, especially in Europe, are generally quite modest in their daily needs. Sarkozy, while president of France, rode a bicycle around Paris.

These cars can be found not only at St. Petersburg weddings. The squeak of the Lokhov fashion of recent years is to organize simple, not wedding parties in limousines. The car rolls down the street, and inside the youth are having a blast, blasting the music as hard as they can, drinking champagne or something stronger. However, the attributes of luxury do not automatically make a person an aristocrat. One Saturday evening on Liteiny Prospekt another snow-colored car stopped in front of me. Two not very sober young women in evening dresses came out of it and went to relieve themselves right behind the bus stop.

White hearses are rushing through St. Petersburg. “Empire of Limousines” is the name of one of the companies that rents out such cars (along with a driver). Our current country is that same empire of limousines for an hour. Grabbing pieces of stability that give the power high prices oil and gas, the average person closes his eyes, believing that this comfortable little world has come forever. He does not want to see either the monstrous demographic situation, or the ruined science, industry, and education. But the post-wedding hangover will invariably pass, and the slave will be left alone with this terrible world, in a vomited wedding frock coat.

Here's one story: during the hungry years, one peasant defiantly sat on a bench near the house and picked his teeth. Like, I ate meat. Like, he's rich. Only he didn’t eat any meat, he only picked his teeth...

Have you noticed how people's needs are changing in the modern world? Schoolchildren walk around with fancy iPhones, which, in fact, they only need to play. Managers earning 40 thousand rubles each buy cars worth 2 million. Lush weddings, like in the Middle Ages, for 100-500 people. All this is done in order to “not look worse than others” and to arouse the envy of those who see it all.

There is such a word - to show off. It means: to put yourself on display, admiring yourself and your behavior.

Many people like to show off, showing off what cool things they own. Or by putting individual moments of your life on display.

According to the definition from the dictionary, show-off is:

  • jewelry, expensive trinkets, objects, usually tasteless, that should emphasize the wealth of their owner. Vasily’s show-off was immediately visible: such colorful pants and a chain cannot be hidden.
  • the desire to show off, to make a strong impression on someone, arrogance, arrogance. Vasya’s show-off in front of Masha was as follows: he took out a wad of money and arrogantly pulled out a bill from it, showing with all his appearance that this was absolute garbage for him. And then he generously treated her to a cocktail.

Simply put, showing off is showing off or showing off. Or is it a person’s desire to show himself in the best light, to put himself on display. And a person who exaggerates his merits or fortune is said to be “showing off.”

Let's look at what and how to show off. Show-offs occur very often in our lives. They are highly contagious. The need to show off in front of others is dictated modern society, even to those who initially do not want it. For example, if one of the schoolchildren in the class does not have an iPhone, then he will be considered a loser and a rogue, although if he has one, one cannot be sure of the opposite. Interesting point, isn't it?

Show-off as a behavior

We earn millions from the show-off of young people.

Showing off is a manner of behavior. A person can brag about anything and anywhere. Most often, people for whom the main thing in life is material values ​​“show off.” The word “boast” is very suitable here. If a person “shows off”, showing his intelligence or level of development, the word “smart” would be appropriate here.

Most often, “throwing a show-off” is typical of teenagers in adolescence. They are simply looking for themselves, wanting self-affirmation, trying to show themselves in their best colors.

Walter Rothschild's zebra-drawn carriage. London. 1898

Many businessmen note that they have to drive a huge SUV to look more respectable and successful. If you can afford it, then it's not a problem.

Show-off price

Maybe I'm old-fashioned
but I appreciate their true soul in people,
and not show-off and the thickness of the wallet.

Sometimes you have to pay dearly for cheap show-offs.

The danger of showing off is that it limits our financial capabilities. People have to spend money on external tinsel and appearances. They spend their little money on this, taking out loans, and not paying much attention to their development.

The lion's share of attention is occupied by “what others will say.” Your own self-esteem begins to depend more and more on the opinions of others. Based on this fear, the need to “not be, but appear” becomes the main goal.

They do not invest in their development, in improving their lives in the long term. They are only concerned with momentary tinsel. And in the end it will cost them dearly.

Show-off and thinking

The highest show-off is life without show-offs :)

An old joke about showing off:

Show-offs of the first order: buy a big expensive car and a Rolex, read Paulo Coelho, despise Dontsova, love a skinny blonde with boobs.

Show-off of the second order: buy a small stylish car and a Longin watch. Read Umberto Eco. Despise Coelho, love the ironic brunette.

Show-offs of the third order: take the metro and taxi because it’s faster and cheaper, wear a Swatch watch, read Anna Gavalda, turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Don't despise anyone because it destroys karma. Don't love anyone because you haven't met your person yet.

Show-offs of the fourth order: sell the apartment, car and Longin watch. Go to Tibet, achieve nirvana, love everyone.

Show-offs of the highest order: return from Tibet, not tell anyone anything, buy a big expensive car, read Dontsov in your spare time, time to look at your phone, love your child’s mother. To realize that any redneck with Coelho could turn out to be a Buddha who has achieved nirvana...

Show-off is based on a person’s desire to appear different from who he really is.

The formation of “show-off” thinking is artificial. The need to show off is imposed on our society economic system to sell people goods and services they don’t really need. And if they don’t have the money for this, then let them take loans.

Such manipulations are reinforced by the traps of credit slavery that came to us from the West, they say, we only live once, we need to have time to take everything from life, etc.

In order not to become a victim of the system, you need to get rid of dependence on the opinions of others. And when you don’t care what others think of you, you will notice that respect in the eyes of others has not diminished at all, rather the opposite.

And if you spend money and time instead of showing off on additional development, then after some time you will find that others already have enough reasons to envy you. This path changes thinking and brings it closer... to the thinking of successful people. The very ones that many try to appear to be, but are not.

A truly successful and self-sufficient person never tries to increase his importance in the eyes of others - his importance is already fine.

He does not brag about things, is not rude to the service staff, and does not assert himself at the expense of those who are below him on the social ladder. A successful person does not look down at those whom he has risen above, but up at those whom he wants to grow to.

He recognizes the need for constant development and self-improvement.

With this mindset all external attributes will be attached by themselves, but they will no longer have any value for you. Your values ​​will already be different.

Good luck! Now you know what and how it is here.

TATYANA FELGENGAUER: Hello, this is the “Evil Number” program, my name is Tanya Felgenhauer. Next to me here is the main character of this program, Tonya Samsonova. She's the author. Today we are talking about cheap show-offs. The poor's view of the lives of the rich. And we have experts to help us understand this problem. Linor Goralik is a writer. Hello Linor.

LINOR GORALIK: Good afternoon.

T. FELGENGAUER: And Nikolai Uskov - Chief Editor GQ magazine. Hello, Nikolay.

N. USKOV: Hello.

A. SAMSONOVA: Hello, hello. Well. I’ll immediately tell you about the rules by which this program will be structured both for the guests and for our listeners. Tatyana and I have prepared five votes. In each case, we count on you to call us on our numbers and express your opinion. While you vote, each of our guests will have an equal amount of time to answer our question and justify their position. I think we should start immediately with the first vote.

T. FELGENGAUER: Let's first, yes, answer the question that worries everyone. Who is guilty? So, glossy magazines are to blame for the fact that poor people spend their last money on expensive things. If you agree, then your phone number is 66-00-66-4. If you don't agree, then 66-00-66-5.

A. SAMSONOVA: So, I repeat the question again. Glossy magazines are to blame for the fact that poor people spend their last money on expensive things. We agree – 66-00-66-4. Disagree 66-00-66-5. Well, let's get started, Linor, how would you vote?

L. GORALIK: It seems to me that the question is structured as a question: Have you stopped drinking cognac in the morning? Firstly, poor people who spend their last money on expensive things are not very poor people. Poor people who can even think of what to spend their money on are in a good position. Secondly, glossy magazine, as one journalist said, demonize Boris Abramovich. Let's not demonize glossy magazines. Glossy magazines are also a product of huge different movements within the culture of society, such as, for example, our habit of buying new clothes without wearing out the old ones. It doesn’t seem to me that the very formulation of the question of who is to blame, with its conspiratorial approach. We have someone to blame, and now we will point the finger at him. Will give us some answer to the question why people prefer to spend money on expensive things. Although this is also another question of what we call expensive things. And not for anything that might seem more appropriate to us sitting at this table.

A. SAMSONOVA: Well, dear ones. There is a level of consumption here.

T. FELGENGAUER: There are a lot of stories when a student boy works and receives, relatively speaking, 20,000 rubles, because he works part-time, he takes out a loan, or borrows money. But he will definitely buy himself an iPhone, and he will walk around with this iPhone. This is the situation we are talking about. Because iPhone is fashionable.

L. GORALIK: OK. I don’t see a problem. If this boy, taking a loan, buys an iPhone. This means that he has three things. Normal health, he doesn’t care how he pays the doctor. Food, because , apparently, he is not hungry. Or at least he believes that he is not so hungry that he cannot cope with it. And a roof over his head, because otherwise he would freeze within 3 hours in our climate. What is he does if he has a high sense of security. There are necessary needs with this money. This is his informed choice. If he is really 20 years old, socialization is more important to him than reasonable retirement savings. Investing in an iPhone may not be stupid. Another thing is why socialization requires such an investment. This is a completely different question, from a completely different area.

A. SAMSONOVA: It was Linor Goralik. Now Nikolai Uskov.

N. USKOV: Well, I would say that, of course, it’s more likely not poor people, but stupid people. I agree with Linor that the poor who spend the last have something to spend. The latter is spent, in general, on some kind of show-off, in general, people are not entirely smart. I agree about the boy that this is important for him, and probably a reasonable expenditure in his frame of reference. Whereas mom will probably be unhappy with this fact. I myself observe among my employees or friends who are much younger than me, by 10 years, the same passion. I walk around with an old, beat-up iPhone that was bought in the USA. Will reflash here, etc. And they are all already here with new ones. And all with these 3ji. Although our incomes differ by about 20 times, if not more. This is really some kind of need that is difficult to explain. I don’t think it needs to be associated with glossy magazines. Glossy magazines are also a product of this need.

A. SAMSONOVA: You know, Nikolai, they say about glossy magazines that this is a kind of fascism, because it imposes a single standard of living.

N. USKOV: Well, that's not true. There are already so many standards even within one glossy magazine, not to mention the fact that there are a lot of glossy magazines, very different in their content and niches. Because there is mass luxury, and there is not luxury at all, but also a kind of glossy consumption. There is luxury there for the very rich, etc. There are a lot of different gradations. And within one journal there can be a wide range. It seems to me that, in fact, models are invented by society, certain social models. Society, marketing of large companies, let's assume. They produce these carrots, which humanity then runs after. You see, a glossy magazine is a fact of consumer society.

A. SAMSONOVA: Nikolai Uskov, and I press the red stop button to sum up the voting results. Not one of our guests is inclined to blame glossy magazines for forcing poor people to spend money on something that, in general, is not intended for them, but is intended for people with higher levels of income. And this same position is shared by the majority of our listeners. 74% do not blame glossy magazines, while 26% believe that you are to blame for everything.

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, not you specifically, Nikolai, but maybe your magazine is partly to blame for this. By the way, are there more wealthy people among your readers?

N. USKOV: Well, judging by marketing research- Yes. Although, of course, students also read us. You see, this is a very important point. It seems to me that a glossy magazine can be demonized, you can just look at it differently. It sets certain life guidelines that force a person to grow, no matter how these guidelines are expressed.

A. SAMSONOVA: Grow up, or take money from elderly parents who need a medical examination in order to comply.

N. USKOV: Well, if we take clinically ill and stupid people, of course, they read glossy magazines, they watch TV, etc. But they act inappropriately not because they read something. They are basically inadequate people. Normal people somehow solve their social problems differently. But it seems to me that in the end, a glossy magazine, by creating or reproducing certain models of life, ultimately explains to a person what the meaning of life is. Perhaps this is some kind of substitution of the meaning of life, this is probably also a possible option. But I don’t think that a serious, smart glossy magazine will do this, because it’s not stupid people who read it.

A. SAMSONOVA: Gentlemen, in your answers to the questions posed, you say that there is no such problem when a person spends money on the wrong things and too much, but then what is the essence of cheap show-offs. Those. It turns out that this phenomenon does not exist in principle? Come on, first Linor, and then Nikolai.

L. GORALIK: In any order. The expression “cheap show-off” is evaluative in all respects. This means that it comes from someone. As always, no matter what we are talking about, any statement tells us more about the speaker than about the subject. When a person says the phrase “cheap show-off,” firstly, it contains aggression towards someone who can afford to spend money on show-off. And secondly, it contains a certain view of how resources should be distributed. I'm trying to say that what might seem like a cheap show-off to someone, seems to someone a vital necessity; what for someone is an incomprehensible acquisition, for someone in their coordinate system is the only reasonable investment of money. We operate very complex concept, trying to approach them with some impudence, just like, for example, Kolya is now trying to explain that a glossy magazine is not just one phenomenon. In general, it's a rather complicated story. The same applies to show-offs. If we ask a question, if we talk about cheap show-offs, why do people brag about what money can buy? And actually the phrase “Cheap show-off” means exactly this, well, because we live in a society that is most afraid of death. Because I am starting from a very distant point, but I will explain very briefly. We have built a world where money can buy security. Demonstrating the presence of money is both a demonstration to others that you are stronger and safer, and a demonstration to yourself that it is very important that you are relatively safe. And as soon as a person starts to have a toothache, he immediately understands what it is - money brings security. Because the quality of his freezing will depend on how much money he can spend at the moment.

T. FELGENGAUER: That is. Is it possible to say that trying to even seem richer than you really are is just a desire for some kind of security?

L. GORALIK: No, because it is snatched... An attempt to be and to appear are two different things. Trying to feel rich...

T. FELGENGAUER: But often people try to appear richer and more successful than they really are.

L. GORALIK: Firstly, wealth is a language, and the manifestation of wealth, the material manifestation of wealth, is also a language. When Colin's junior employees come with an iPhone 3G, which clearly costs more than their salary alone. Those. this requires financial effort from them...

N. USKOV: Well, one, I don’t know what... they eat.

L. GORALIK: They're chewing on an iPhone. But, one way or another...

A. SAMSONOVA: Does it have a function?

N. USKOV: Apparently.

L. GORALIK: It has a soft rubber... One way or another, these people use this iPhone in order to communicate by the fact of its presence who they are, what they are. They communicate many different things. They report that they are aware of fashion trends. They report that they have money to buy an iPhone. They report that they are monitoring which iPhone...

T. FELGENGAUER: But there is no money to eat.

L. GORALIK: This is their personal choice. OK.

N. USKOV: It’s actually easier for them. For me, it’s more important, for example, to eat. And it’s easier and more important for them...

L. GORALIK: For me too, they are younger, they maybe eat less often.

A. SAMSONOVA: You see, they actually report only one thing behind all this, that they are stupid.

L. GORALIK: No, they tell you this.

A. SAMSONOVA: Well, Nikolai just told me why.

L. GORALIK: In fact, they are not talking to you.

A. SAMSONOVA: It is important who they talk to.

N. USKOV: Linor dug very deeply when she spoke about death. About the fear of death. It seems to me that in addition to the fear of death, it is also characteristic of a culture that a person has a desire to somehow expand his expansion. I associate this with a kind of sexual aggression, which is simply inherent in both male and female individuals, because sex is a kind of expansion. And this expansiveness, it is connected, it is deeply natural, it is reproduced in primitive society, we see it even in surviving primitive societies. All these feathers, insignia, some things that often disfigure the body, but testify to your social status, the number of children. Or the number of wives, or the number of buffalo killed, well, it doesn’t matter. All this, one way or another, confirms your certain sexual function. That you are a strong male or a strong female. That you made this expansion. That they obey you, want you, love you, respect you, etc. In more complex societies this is reproduced in the form of tchotchkes. It is obvious. And these tchotchkes are really a language. This is a very ancient language. This was not at all invented by glossy magazines, which have existed, God willing, for 300 years. Not more. This is, of course, made up. Go to any big museum. Visit the Tower, where the British Royal Family's jewelry is kept.

A. SAMSONOVA: All this is very cool, sorry, Tan, as long as we have a very coordinated society. After all, the tchotchkes of some are well read by others. But when we really have such a huge difference in income, then people from the poorer segments of the population, whose income is 30 times different from the income of the richer ones, are simply not able to read the language of these strata.

T. FELGENGAUER: On the contrary. Maybe this is a universal language after all?

L. GORALIK: Humanity has never had a homogeneous society and, with God’s help, there never will be, because here we will all die. When I said, Tonya, about the boy with the iPhone, about whom you say that he is stupid, it was not for nothing that I said, he is not talking to you. Every person talks to his surroundings. With its own social stratum. As part of your social stratum, show that you can move to more high level, breaking out beyond this stratum or at least staying at the top is very important. This is such a basic part of communication. People do this, again, this conversation is very important and very interesting for me because we are talking from a peacetime perspective. And that's great. I often think that not only we are a generation that has not seen war, but also our parents, a generation that has not seen war, which has a good effect on us. We are all speaking from the perspective of people who generally mean two things. There is money, there is something to spend it on. And there is a choice. Yes great. While we have it, let's play this game. Why we chose this one out of all the possible games is another matter, but it requires a lot of historical references. In simple words, because we, a society afraid of death, have not yet found another language.

T. FELGENGAUER: Let's talk not only about the show-off of the poor, but also about whether similar phenomena exist among the rich. And by the way, there were very interesting questions on our website. They came about the nouveau riche, people who have just gotten rich, and they want to show it.

A. SAMSONOVA: And the language has not yet been learned conditionally.

T. FELGENGAUER: Let's vote first, and at the same time open this subtopic: we ask you: do you agree that rich Russians always strive to demonstrate their wealth. If you agree, then your phone number is 66-00-66-4. If you don't agree, then 66-00-66-5.

A. SAMSONOVA: So, I repeat the statement about which we ask you a question: rich Russians always strive to demonstrate, to show off, if you like, their wealth. Yes, I agree. 66-00-66-4. No, I don’t agree 66-00-66-5. But what is it really like, Nikolai?

N. USKOV: Well, “nouveau riche” is a French word, as far as I understand. And to somehow say that these are Russians is a property of the human psyche. It seems to me that obtaining some kind of reward for one’s efforts, of course, requires public recognition. Well done. How to gain this social recognition within your group or outside of it. This is, of course, demonstrated by status symbols. These are expensive cars, expensive houses, we all invite friends to a housewarming party. For what purpose are we doing this? To show off your new home and make everyone die of envy. This model is reproduced at the cheapest level. It is not necessary to invite you to some luxurious palace in the south of France.

A. SAMSONOVA: The same well-known phenomenon, and many who traveled abroad for the first time were always surprised that rich Europeans, for example, can walk in such a way that you cannot distinguish them from the middle strata of the population. And somehow they don’t particularly try to show off all the gold they have at home in their clothes.

N. USKOV: English old money, for example. Or it's French old money. New money behaves exactly the same there. Look what is happening in Nice with the yachts of the nouveau riche. One of the founders of Microsoft, Peter Alen, is generally a very educated, wonderful person. But his yacht takes up half the harbor. This is one of the largest yachts, if not the largest yacht in the world. And so they measure their length against Roman Abramovich...

T. FELGENGAUER: Yachts.

N. USKOV: When two of them go there, there is no one else to be there.

T. FELGENGAUER: Let's give the floor to Linor.

L. GORALIK: This is again, when we are told that in Europe rich Europeans are dressed in such a way that you cannot distinguish them, the speaker cannot distinguish it. The non-speaker, of course, sees what kind of Polo shirt he is wearing, sees what worn sandals he is wearing. He sees what kind of bag he just bought, simply because he was tired of carrying, I don’t know, a magazine under his arm. Another thing is that there is a different language. And this, however, is connected, as Kolya correctly says, with old money. These people have a different language of communication. For example, posture, pronunciation, we have no idea - a person with Yale pronunciation, a person with Oxford pronunciation. This requires several generations... We do not have a more subtle communication language, which, for example. Associated with the manner of wearing things.

T. FELGENGAUER: We do not have a culture of wealth as such from generation to generation. There are not just several generations of rich people in a row, when a person is used to this wealth, and he treats it differently.

L. GORALIK: I want to say one more important thing. There is no wealth. This is also always a very conditional term. When a person living on $16 a month sees a person living on $1,000 a month, it is a sign that the person is flaunting his wealth. A person living on 1000 dollars a month knows that 800 is spent on renting the hut in which he lives in Moscow, and the remaining 200 he tries to eat.

A. SAMSONOVA: I press the red stop button. I will announce the voting results after a short break. I’ll just remind you that this is the “Evil Number” program, today we are talking about the topic “Cheap show-offs, the life of the rich through the eyes of the poor,” stay with us. Don't go anywhere.

A. SAMSONOVA: Good evening, we are back in the studio. This is the “Cunning Number” program, in which today we are together with our guests and my colleague Tanya Felgenhauer. By the way, my name is Tonya Samsonova, we are discussing the topic, “Cheap show-offs. The poor's idea of ​​the rich's life." And our guests today are Linor Goralik, writer. Hello again, Linor.

L. GORALIK: Good afternoon.

A. SAMSONOVA: And Nikolai Uskov, editor-in-chief of GQ magazine. Hello, Nikolay.

N. USKOV: Hello.

A. SAMSONOVA: I promised to announce the voting results before leaving for the news and a short break. Here they are. We asked a question: rich Russians always strive to emphasize and demonstrate their wealth. 61% of those who voted live now agree with this. At the same time, 39% say that this is not characteristic of all rich Russians to some extent. What would we like to do now? It seems to me that not everyone present here in the studio has encountered cheap show-offs. With this phenomenon. And when we discuss this, we get very deep into theories, into deep reasons. But there is specific examples, and they are sometimes shocking, and they are so eloquent that they do not need any further explanation. We have a live telephone number 363-36-59. If you know anything more about cheap show-offs, if you can give specific examples, then please. By the way, before the broadcast we talked with Alexey Mitrofanov...

T. FELGENGAUER: Yes, and he told us wonderful stories from his youth, when he really loved to show off in front of girls, getting into the company car of one of his parents, as far as I understand, where there was a special telephone, a dedicated line. And he called the TASS line, there was a man on duty there who couldn’t help but pick up the phone when they called him from this number. And so young Mitrofanov said: well, how did our guys play hockey? And after reporting, they joyfully told him: we won 6:4. And Lesha Mitrofanov joyfully hung up and said - everything is fine, we won. These were the show-offs on the girls, as Mitrofanov admits, it made an indelible impression. I don’t know how cheap these were show-offs, but they were definitely show-offs.

A. SAMSONOVA: Let's compare with what our listeners will tell us. 363-36-59 I once again remind you of the live broadcast phone number. This is a Moscow number, and hello, you are on the air of the Ekho Moskvy radio station. Hello, what's your name?

AUDIENCE: Hello. Sergey.

A. SAMSONOVA: Sergey, your example of show-off.

SERGEY: The presenter said it right before you, that students who don’t have enough money at all, they try to show some kind of material wealth, buy phones, something else.

A. SAMSONOVA: Sergey, we need specific stories, specific examples. I understand about the phone. Add something else to our collection.

SERGEY: Oh, well, please, okay. Cars are the clearest indicator. When the salary is, say, 15-20-25 thousand, well, even 35, then they take out loans and buy themselves expensive cars, which in principle they have no use for. Well, this applies to fairly young and middle-aged people.

A. SAMSONOVA: There is such a phenomenon, I agree. Linor, you wanted to add something.

T. FELGENGAUER: By the way, it seems to me that this is a separate issue about the car, very important topic. The desire to buy a good car, Linor, you wanted to comment on this somehow.

L. GORALIK: I know of one truly tragic case in which a person, for the sake of showing off, spent a monstrous amount of money on something that was deeply unpleasant to him. This is when a couple I know, when it became fashionable in Russia to buy expensive pets. This was back in the 90s, of course, somehow on the wave of completely new wealth. They bought the cat at those prices for $25,000. Kota. And this cat was disgusting, scary. These are Ashera cats, now they cost $35,000. Well, times have changed. And there are probably fewer cats. I don't know how to explain it. Well, in general, yes, these people bought a cat simply because it was clear that they would not be ashamed to say who lives with them.

A. SAMSONOVA: Poor cat.

L. GORALIK: And they didn’t want a cat, they didn’t like it. There was, fortunately, a huge house there, and other people hired for this task were taking care of the cat. But yes, it was an impressive show off.

A. SAMSONOVA: Cars, cats, telephones. Anything else? 363-36-59. Alo, hello, you are live on Echo of Moscow. What is your name?

AUDIENCE: Good evening. My name is Aleksey. I'm calling from Moscow.

A. SAMSONOVA: Alexey, did you turn off the radio?

ALEXEY: Yes, I moved away.

A. SAMSONOVA: Excellent. Turn it off completely. Otherwise, it’s somehow gurgling on the air. And tell your story about show-offs.

ALEXEY: Well, look, it’s just a very everyday story and at the same time so bright. I `m teaching. I teach at home. Well, I'm rehearsing. And I had two guys as students, and each of them came to me in their own car. There is nothing terrible about this, but not in the conditions of Moscow. Because people, I just know, were very clearly in pain, they were late, and my dear ones called me and explained that they were stuck in traffic jams. I think they could do the same thing one and a half times faster on the subway. But for some reason not, only by car.

A. SAMSONOVA: A cool example, in my opinion, very adequate for many of us.

N. USKOV: Oh, no, listen, they were stuck in traffic jams because they were idiots, sorry, I used a different word. And you just need to leave earlier.

T. FELGENGAUER: Listen, the car is actually such a status thing.

N. USKOV: Well, it has status, it’s comfortable, you know. You take the metro, I, for example, don’t want to take the Moscow metro. There's bad air conditioning, a lot of people...

T. FELGENGAUER: I drive, I understand that this is often the only way to quickly get to the right place and not be late.

N. USKOV: Quickly. But if you leave on time, you can get there by car.

A. SAMSONOVA: And if you have a busy schedule, then you don’t get anywhere.

N. USKOV: It is poorly composed. Well, you see, a car is just a convenience. This is privacy. It’s not so important to me what kind of car I have, it’s important to me that it’s a car, that it’s an air conditioner, that it’s music, and no one bothers me, I can sit there, smoke, take care of myself...

T. FELGENGAUER: Some kind of space.

N. USKOV: No one pushes me, no one presses their fist into my back, as happens in the subway. Doesn't crush your feet.

A. SAMSONOVA: How do you know?

N. USKOV: Well, because I traveled by metro naturally, like all the people who were born here.

A. SAMSONOVA: Okay, let's move on to another question that we also wanted to ask our listeners. And then give you time so that you can speak out too.

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, in fact, we have already partially touched on this question of how someone shows off in which countries. Let's vote what you think. Show-off is an exceptional feature of Russians. If you agree with this, then 66-00-66-4. If you do not agree with this, then 66-00-66-5.

A. SAMSONOVA: So, show-off is an exceptional feature of Russians. Yes, I agree 66-00-66-4. No, I don’t agree, not only Russians suffer from this 66-00-66-5. Linor?

L. GORALIK: I have a solution. I hope my mom doesn't hear this. But I have a solution to the whole story with the car, time and the subway. The driver I work with when I have a very busy schedule and a lot to get done is a motorcyclist. In Moscow there is a motorcycle service that operates on time. And, for example, last summer, when I really had a very busy schedule, I simply took as a driver until September, the warm months, a motorcyclist boy, with whom we managed everything perfectly. At 6 pm it takes 40 minutes to go around the ring, and it turns out great.

T. FELGENGAUER: This is all fair. I bought myself a scooter for this last summer.

L. GORALIK: I can’t drive a car or a motorcycle myself, but this solves the problem perfectly.

A. SAMSONOVA: Friends, stop showing off, let’s get back to answering the question. So, after all, only Russians...

T. FELGENGAUER: Examples of show-offs. So Linor and I showed how it’s done.

L. GORALIK: And the main thing is the whole problem with time.

A. SAMSONOVA: Nikolay, only Russians or not?

N. USKOV: In principle, we answered this question, of course not.

A. SAMSONOVA: What about the Italians? What about the French? How are the British?

N. USKOV: Listen, well, they were probably in Milan, because they were, I won’t believe that the girls weren’t in Milan?

A. SAMSONOVA: So what? Pink semi-loco...

N. USKOV: So pink. Well, listen, well, Italian cars... they’re so pink, all these checkered suits, scarves...

L. GORALIK: They are all salmon.

N. USKOV: Crocodile boots. The man just went to work. It seems that he was going to get married, at least. And this is what, in general, the entire Milanese crowd looks like.

A. SAMSONOVA: Well, this does not cause any disgust, or some kind of smile, as if they saw women who go out to buy groceries from us, but at the same time put on all the gold jewelry that they have at home. Somehow these Italian men look nicer.

L. GORALIK: Maybe they call, we are not them, we don’t know.

N. USKOV: I don’t know, it makes me smile, for example. I and women who dress, however, have a smaller smile, because in principle I am happy when people dress. So they have good mood, which means they want to attract attention, which means they have something to say and show. I take this very calmly. And to Italian men, and to Russian women basically. It's much worse when they dress poorly. There are such unkempt bastards walking around there, picking their noses. This is much worse. So it’s better to wear heels and leopard prints.

T. FELGENGAUER: No, let's go without leopards, please.

N. USKOV: Well, in a zebra crossing, good. If you don't want a leopard, then let it be a zebra.

L. GORALIK: If possible, just don’t combine them at the same time. Just one thing already. Or a zebra or a leopard. That will already be enough.

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, Linor, you wanted to talk about animals, we started talking about them.

L. GORALIK: Finally, we have come to the topic that interests us.

A. SAMSONOVA: I press the red stop button, and still announce the voting results. 41% believe that showing off is an exclusive property of Russians. And because Russians, no one is showing off.

T. FELGENGAUER: It was the patriots who called us now. The main thing for them is that everything is only with us.

A. SAMSONOVA: 59% believe that this is some kind of global phenomenon, characteristic of humans in general, and not only a property of Russians. Any comments, Linor?

L. GORALIK: I want to say that if anyone is interested in how the answer to this question actually works, then even now during the crisis, everything expensive brands. Dear ones is a relative concept. Well, relatively speaking, the luxury segment of the market. They bet on the so-called magnificent four. I'm afraid to make a mistake, I'll try to name it correctly. Russia, China, Korea and someone else. I have the impression that Japan, but I'm not sure....

N. USKOV: No, not Japan. Everything fell terribly there.

L. GORALIK: India?

N. USKOV: India. Only China is in first place, India is in second...

L. GORALIK: Despite the fact that Arab countries are a completely separate issue, they are structured differently.

A. SAMSONOVA: What unites these 4 countries?

L. GORALIK: A sharp change in social status in the last 20 years, that’s all. There are people who are communicating with money for the first time. People have appeared who have no status language other than the language of things. Everything that is happening to us has happened. Normal process. Cooking broth is also a normal process. The foam that floats on it is tasteless and unpleasant. I am not trying to say that the normal process in all its stages is attractive. But there is no pathology. Pathology, when it does not develop, or does not evolve towards normalization.

A. SAMSONOVA: We have such a level of abstraction, we have risen so much in our analytics above the society that we are dissecting here, that for us, of course, everything is normal.

L. GORALIK: Everything except murder is normal.

T. FELGENGAUER: You said about evolution, how required condition this very normality. Do you see any signs of evolution in Russian society?

L. GORALIK: Yes, I am. For example, I see the growing children of the generation of Russian nouveau riche, who are structured completely differently, absolutely devoid of the need to express themselves solely through things. Acquire a new communication language. There is much less fear, interestingly, of being left without money. And in general they are arranged in a much healthier way. For which we thank their parents, who, for example, invested money in their education, among other things.

N. USKOV: I completely agree with this.

L. GORALIK: This is normal.

N. USKOV: My friend is quite wealthy, his friend is obsessed with expensive things, his son believes that jeans should not cost more than 25 dollars. At the same time, he can afford any jeans, including those that cost 2,000. But this is his principled position. And it is impossible to change it. Even her father, who says, “Oh, take the money,” cannot change her. No.

A. SAMSONOVA: The question is, have these people stopped showing off, or have they simply switched from one language to another language. Or they switched from the language of things...

N. USKOV: The point is that, firstly, if we take the older generation, i.e. those who were once nouveau riche. They are now accustomed to money, and now the coolest behavior among them is not to reveal this wealth. There is one in English language the term discrit luxury. Such a hidden, implicit luxury.

A. SAMSONOVA: For example?

N. USKOV: Well, the man is dressed simply, but expensively. For example. Or he just drives a very nice car. Not a Bentley, for example.

L. GORALIK: Pink.

N. USKOV: Yes. With some initials.

L. GORALIK: Just a Bentley. On black.

N. USKOV: It’s just that he only drives up to the Monte Carlo casino in a Bentley. And here he drives a five-wheeler BMW. Or on a six Audi. Like an ordinary government official.

A. SAMSONOVA: Like a sucker.

N. USKOV: Like an ordinary hired manager to whom the company gave a car. And this is a special chic among large fortunes now... Look at the oligarchs, they rarely use expensive cars. They have, of course, a huge park. But an ordinary car is a BMW five, or an Audi eight.

A. SAMSONOVA: Nikolay Uskov, Linor Goralik.

L. GORALIK: Old money. Moreover, the word “old” also does not necessarily mean 4 generations and 5 centuries. It can mean many different things. But people who are accustomed to money know that wealth is the feeling that there is enough money. This feeling is developed by everyone in their own social stratum. You can be a rich person if you feel like you have enough money and receive a very modest salary by Moscow standards. Another thing is that this desire to show off is precisely connected with the loss of the feeling that there is enough money. Enough means: it was enough yesterday, it’s enough today, and it will be enough tomorrow. And then you don’t have to think about them. Wealth is a situation where a person does not think how much his jeans cost. He buys them because it was close, fast, convenient, and clean. But to do this, you need to feel that the level of wealth that you have, even if not cosmic, will not go anywhere. You have a stable financial situation that suits you. And then it turns out that you don’t know how much your jeans cost. And this does not mean that you are rich by the standards of a person whose yacht takes up half the bay. But this means that you no longer care about showing yourself and others your well-being through the acquisition of status items.

T. FELGENGAUER: This internal feeling is more like a feeling of oneself.

L. GORALIK: Well, yes, it’s like healing a wound. This cannot be accelerated, it takes time. This time is passing, if we care about anything other than the high cost of markups on sausage in the Perekrestok supermarket, then maybe this Peaceful time will last. If it lasts, then our attitude towards money will also change, it seems to me.

T. FELGENGAUER: Let’s, I don’t know, about age, it seems to me that we have already more or less talked, or let’s leave this name...

A. SAMSONOVA: I think we’ll move on to the final vote, which we have planned today.

T. FELGENGAUER: The last question we want to ask our voting guests, and our listeners and viewers is this: our society is structured in such a way that people are forced to show off. If you agree with this statement, then you dial the number 66-00-66-4. If you do not agree with this, then 66-00-66-5.

A. SAMSONOVA: So, the question is as follows. Our society is structured in such a way that people are forced to show off. If you agree with this, 66-00-66-4. If you do not agree, 66-00-66-5. Voting is underway. And you are running out of time during which you must express your positions, Nikolai.

N. USKOV: In cultural studies there is such a concept - a culture of shame and a culture of conscience. A culture of shame is when, accordingly, a person is guided by other people’s opinions about himself. And thus forms his own assessment. And a culture of conscience is when a person does not need the opinions of others and forms it independently. Through dialogue with God, suppose, or with some kind of alterego. It is believed that the culture of conscience is a more developed type of culture, when a person has quite clear, clear criteria for his own assessment that are immanent to him. They are present in it thanks to parents, books read, films watched, etc. In many ways, we are still a culture of shame. We focus on the opinions of others. This is still very important for us. We are not self-sufficient. In this sense, we, of course, are such a virgin, naive nation. There was no way for us to go through the journey without being shocked. We have very often started over again within one century. And they lost the connection of generations, the connection of times. Therefore, this is, in general, a kind of misfortune, and a kind of given for Russia. And, probably, we just need to try, including through such programs, to orient people towards some kind of development of new internal principles of self-esteem. Then there will be fewer show-offs, less cheap show-offs. But they will not disappear completely; they will certainly always be there. Then there will be fewer of them, they will be of better quality, they will not irritate to such an extent. Maybe they won't provoke social tension. And they certainly provoke. But this is a phase that apparently will not come in a mass sense in Russia very soon, as it seems to me.

A. SAMSONOVA: Linor?

L. GORALIK: It seems to me that our society is structured in such a way that life is not embodied here and now. This is again connected with the way our history was structured, with the way we see our future, but, in general, there is no feeling that there is some kind of yesterday from which we can draw strength, or some kind of tomorrow , which should and should be counted on. Our culture, here now in Russia, encourages a very feeling that you are living to the fullest. This is also due to the youth of those who now have money. Not many of them are yet required to take care of children. Or about some, well, in general, in simple words we can afford to view money as a toy that we are free to dispose of, more or less. And in this sense, of course, a person whose wealth is more or less known, and whose spending is much lower than his income, here in this society often looks strange or suspicious. I don't want to generalize in any way. I heard an absolutely amazing conversation about a man about whom they said that he clearly received a lot, but he clearly spent little. Either casino or cocaine. This was not a condemnation, it was a complete misunderstanding of where this money goes. Well, should I put them off? Well, not to our banks? Well, in general, some kind of complex cabbage soup is immediately implied.

A. SAMSONOVA: It falls out right away.

L. GORALIK: He falls out of the usual image. This is by no means a generalization. There are people who organize their lives on completely different principles. But show-offs are not encouraged. A relaxed attitude towards money is encouraged. This is the feeling I have, as a person who has lived here for many years. It's very interesting. Should the attitude towards money be different? I am an anxious person, I actually tend to be afraid of the future, and somehow hoard supplies. Not really, but at least blame myself for not doing it. People with lower levels of anxiety probably don't see a problem here at all. Don't know.

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, look, on the other hand, you and I talked about that same unfortunate boy who talks to his iPhone, bought on credit, or something else, and you mentioned that in order to somehow establish himself, in in his own micro society, or to rise to the top, he is forced to speak this language, i.e. he has to take out loans, not think about what and how.

A. SAMSONOVA: To be considered a human being.

T. FELGENGAUER: Can we say, in this case, those very show-offs are such a part of the social elevator mechanism. If you want to rise to the top, you'll show off.

L. GORALIK: In the society to which this boy belongs. If he were part of the emu subculture, in order to rise to the top, he would have to seriously cut his wrists in a hot bath. If he belonged to the biker subculture, no one would be interested in his iPhone, but the quality of his car, his gloves, would be important. This is a social lift in certain social strata.

T. FELGENGAUER: Don't you need a show-off to move from one layer to another?

L. GORALIK: A layer of what?

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, if I have a certain scheme of how I would like to develop. Now I’m a student, and I’m surrounded by students. And I want to be not in last place among them. But after…

A. SAMSONOVA: When applying for a job, I need to come with a good phone.

N. USKOV: When applying for a job, you need to come, for example, with a good watch. I had a case, for example, my friend came with a very expensive watch, which he simply borrowed from his banker friend. A watch worth $100,000. And naturally, he was given a salary 2 times more than he was worth.

L. GORALIK: Well, these are certain sectors.

N. USKOV: Because the employer, having seen this watch, realized that he could not offer him the money that he originally wanted to offer him.

T. FELGENGAUER: Great, the person develops further, he wants to make a career. At some certain moment, he wants to get to the top from a middle manager of some level. He needs to learn to speak a new language, forget all those old show-offs and learn new ones.

N. USKOV: Of course.

L. GORALIK: Well, yes. But this happens in any circle of any society. You are now choosing a certain environment, which, by the way, is very small. It is mostly Western, mostly blah, blah, blah, in which yes, status symbols are elements not of the main principles, but elements of the social elevator. In theory, this man is the man wearing these beautiful watches, and if he didn’t know his business, he wouldn’t have gotten this job.

N. USKOV: No, well, absolutely.

L. GORALIK: A watch is one of the ways to conduct a conversation.

N. USKOV: Increase your salary, in principle.

L. GORALIK: But, for example, I, as a person who for many years in my previous life hired people with a technological profile, a programmer, a systems engineer, everything else. A person may not wash for a couple of weeks. This doesn't say anything about him professional knowledge, and most importantly, it doesn’t say anything about how much it will cost me. It is quite possible that he is the most expensive specialist that I can find in the segment. There are completely different signs of status, for example.

A. SAMSONOVA: That is. show-offs never exist for their own sake. They always exist so that you fit into one or another social group.

L. GORALIK: Of course, the programmer also has his own show-offs. They are simply not monetary, but they are also monstrously resource-intensive and labor-intensive. This is not how it works. Exactly the same as I don’t know about anyone else. But this has nothing to do with money. There are environments in which money can help in social lifting. There are some that don’t, it seems to me.

A. SAMSONOVA: Well, in that case, summing up what you said, it seems to me that we come to the conclusion that it is not people who are to blame for the fact that they show off cheaply, but society and the environment in which they exist force this out of do.

L. GORALIK: Why are they to blame?

A. SAMSONOVA: Well, good.

L. GORALIK: No, really, why are these games worse... You know, once upon a time...

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, I’ll explain why our questions are formulated this way. Because everyone, you yourself started with the fact that cheap show-offs are aggressively colored.

L. GORALIK: This is derogatory...

T. FELGENGAUER: This is evaluative, and that’s why, willy-nilly, this word “guilty” appears.

L. GORALIK: Let's just get rid of the words “cheap show-off”. And we will have no need for the word “guilty.”

T. FELGENGAUER: Show-off will not go away from this.

A. SAMSONOVA: So, we are summing up the voting results at the end of the program. And I asked the question: society is to blame for this... Blame again. Our society is structured in such a way that people are forced to show off. Yes or no? Yes. Society is like this and we are forced to show off - say 38% of Ekho Moskvy radio listeners. At the same time, 62% believe that it is not society and not society that needs to dance here.

N. USKOV: But the neighbors are not to blame.

L. GORALIK: Presenters of “Echo of Moscow”.

T. FELGENGAUER: Well, with these crafty numbers we finish the “Cunning Number” program, which Taty Felgenhauer and Tonya Samsonova conducted for you today. I thank our hosts today, Linor Goralik and Nikolai Uskov.

N. USKOV: Thank you.

T. FELGENGAUER: All the best.