I recently met a person in a gym dressed with an adidas tracksuit, listening to his iPod and complaining about not having enough money. Well, that made me think.
I wonder what does "luxury" actually mean? Of course, defining a word like luxury depends on your status, on your origin, on what you've gone through in your life. But is there one single definition of luxury? If not, what is luxury to you?


For me it's hard to say what luxury actually means to me. On the one hand I could name dozens of things that represent a certain social status like a big car, a house, cloth, jewellery and stuff like that. On the other hand I think of peace, freedom, a family and health. But does the definition of luxury only depend on what you have, compared to others? If so, compared to whom? To your rich neighbours or perhaps to people living in poverty, perhaps thousands of kilometres away?
Living in Germany there is only a very little danger of living in poverty or dying from hunger. Nearly everyone in this country can afford to have a TV set, a phone, not to mention a secure home and food. But what about the internet? Although depending on social welfare there are possibilities of having access to the internet as it's a source of information and can help you to find a job. So, is internet still luxury in Germany? Some decades ago no-one even had a computer. I can't understand how something like the internet that became a standard so fast shouldn't still be seen as luxury.

What do you think?