The Higher Stages of the Barbarian Culture

I came across an old article on The Escapist called "Theory of the Gaming Class" by Mark Wallace

It begins with a discussion of Thorstein Veblen's 1899 work on economics and society, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Wallace argues that leisure - and gaming in particular - are markers of social status, but I would argue he does so without considering the broader economic constraints in which games are produced and marketed to us as a consumer class. Consider for example, the analysis in Dovey and Kennedy's Game Cultures and Lister et al. New Media: A Critical Introduction

Soon enough, games will be the single most culturally important entertainment medium out there, the yardstick by which we measure our leisure time - and thus our station in society. When that happens, all your cool will belong to us.