Perhaps I am a “Bobo” wannabe. But I lack the money to live the lifestyle as I mow the grass in my suburban backyard wearing my tie dye t-shirt (but at least the shirt did come from Telegraph Ave in Berkeley)…
Bobos are the “bohemian bourgeois” as described in David Brooks 2000 book. I finally read this book 8 years late and found that while it definitely describes a cultural phenomena that fits my experience in many ways, the story is incomplete.
The idea behind the Bohemian Bourgeois is that former sixties radicals and idealists have found a way to reconcile their values with wealth and are defining a culture based on meritocracy, that displaces the older culture of wealth and privilege. Bobos are not “yuppies,” but they are kind of the next wave. They are the people at REI buying enough gear to scale Everest for this weekend’s hike in the woods. Or perhaps they are the people hiring a tour to take them up Everest. Some drive a Prius; many drive Navigators. They are the dominant spenders in our society today.
I found three key themes in the book that resonated with me:
- A Culture of Consumption – Brooks description of his experience at an REI store and his detailed “Code of Financial Correctness” rings painfully true in my experience, but has been dramatically tempered as we started a family. I know people who need to spend $4000 on a bicycle. Reading the stories of consumptive excess–and the role that a desire for an “authentic experience” plays in people spending money–accurately describes a segment of the population I’ve lived and worked with–and aspired to at times.
- Metis – Brooks describes the ancient Greek concept of Metis as a form of practical knowledge that is highly valued and necessary in a changing world. The bobo business world places a high value on meritocracy and experiential learning. Abstract reasoning knowledge and theory is less important than knowing how to get things done. The startup is the ultimate dream job for the bobo.
- The Futility of Intellectual Life – Brooks describes the career path for a person who wants to be an intellectual…or, perhaps more accurately these days, a “pundit.” He describes years of drudge work behind the scenes as young analysts do all the work for their famous superiors who spend their time on the phone or being interviewed. It’s the culture I lived on Capitol Hill…you may be making $20K/year and sharing an apartment with 3 other guys, but hey, you get to write laws, so every job is extremely competitive.
But much has changed in 8 years.
I find a lot more relevance in Richard Florida’s view of an emerging creative class, and, at the cutting edge of that class, the “web worker” class described by Anne Zelenka in her book Connect! because these books describe how the changing demands of work are affecting our entire lives as they require us to live the Metis concept. Consumption…it is still there, but I think people are growing tired of the superficial excesses of “financially correct” behavior. And the “knowledge worker” path described, while still valid in many industries, is not the only path for people today.
The common values underlying the consumptive behaviors and the metis work style is a pursuit of authenticity. I buy a Honda element at least partially to identify with the type of people I think would drive such a car. I want the performance bike because even though I know I’m not Lance Armstrong, I can feel like I’m part of the same thing if I have a bike that is at least sort of like his. But you can’t buy authenticity. At some point we wake up and realize:
- Dunkin Donuts coffee is good enough
- A used mountain bike is better for hauling kids
- polyester is a pretty good “wicking” fabric that you can buy at Marshalls
At work, 60-hour work weeks used to be “living the dream.” But after you work at half a dozen startups, you realize you’ve got to have some balance…it’s not ALL about work and to be truly yourself, you need to do a lot of other things. You are not your job.
The creative ethos is not about how some people might be more creative or smarter than others or even how our work defines us. It is fundamentally based on experience, authenticity, and personal connections based on passion. I think Brooks correctly described the pursuit of mid-career professionals in the 1990s to strike a principled balance between gaudy materialism of the 80s and idealism that didn’t pay the rent…but I believe we are now in a period of rapid social change–enhanced, but not driven, by technology.
Social media technology is part of the change…there are more opportunities to connect with people of similar interests and ways to make an individual impact. Blogs, twitter, etc. are not just a platform to broadcast your opinions, they are tools to connect and engage in a creative enterprise. It’s not structured…it’s not even really defined yet…but it is a practice accessible to anyone who has the passion to sustain their involvement and ideas others believe have merit.
I think the Bobos are real…but the characteristics of the class are changing all the time. I don’t think balancing idealism with wealth and affluence is the long term driver or motivation behind the behaviors of the class–I think desire to be creative–to control the creation of your own individual and authentic expression of worth–is the underlying force that will transform Bobo culture on to the next step…