a social critique of the judgment of taste

Moreover, the analysis also suggests that taste eclecticism corresponds to a variety of taste patterns. It also partially supports the assumption that plural socialization, as a result of social mobility, fosters taste eclecticism. It first shows that the impact of secondary socialization in the class of destination prevails over the impact of primary socialization in the class of origin. This article explores the consequences of social mobility for musical tastes. Our study suggests that future research on social differentiation and cultural hierarchies should pay more attention to environmental practices. In conclusion, our findings present strong evidence for a (re)conceptualization of environmental practices as a cultural taste and a potential form of cultural capital. In contrast, a traditional and folksy musical orientation seemed negatively related to environmental practices. Highbrow cultural capital was positively associated with conspicuous forms of environmental practices (e.g., shopping).

General cultural engagement was the best predictor of environmental practices. Secondly, our study confirms that education relates positively to environmental practices, and more importantly shows that educational differences in cultural engagement can explain educational differences in environmental practices. The second and third respectively distinguish a traditional and folksy musical orientation from more contemporary and eclectic tastes, and highbrow culture from emerging forms of cultural capital. The primary distinction resides between the culturally engaged and disengaged. Firstly, we found three modes of cultural engagement.

Against this background, we use data from the Flemish Survey on Socio-cultural Shift to (i) examine cultural engagement and distinction in Flanders though multiple correspondence analysis and (ii) investigate the relationship between people's cultural activities and their environmental practices through structural equation modelling. While previous studies have looked at educational attainment, we focus on another dimension of cultural capital i.e., cultural engagement. In this study, we approach environmental practices from a cultural point of view, focusing on the role of cultural capital.

A social critique of the judgment of taste