Abstract:
This study aims to examine the ascendance of social mobility opportunities in Turkish society in the 1950s. In so doing, it draws upon Veblen’s notion of conspicuous consumption. Veblen’s notion is striking in that it highlights both the continuous nature of striving for higher status positions and the role of wealth display for status aspirants. The main body of the thesis is shaped around some social transformations in the 1950s, regarding the perception of marital relationships, social mobility, and consumption patterns. In this respect Hayat magazine is considered both a valuable source to trace such changes and a social phenomenon to be examined in its own respect.
