WERE -- ARE? -- ECONOMIC MOTIVATIONS RECOGNIZED?

So used to that invisible -- toqueville

YES, BECAUSE ONE INSTINCTIVELY KNOWS 

WHAT REINFORCES RULES OR BREAKS THEM

No, because thinking through customs
means viewing them from a distance

• Take a modern practice,

buying what one does not need

Window at the Galeries Lafayette department store, Richard Nahem, Eye Prefer Paris

"If I wore my favorite black dress on Tuesday in Cincinatti, I'd  see pictures on social media on Wednesday, and I couldn’t repeat the look in San Diego on Thursday ...or else ... people would think I had only one dress."

-- Woman preparing a book tour, New York Times

For women, changing outfits every day is a kind of tax. Asked why they do it, many will say out of habit, because they like shopping, or that if they don't do it, they'll seem to lack the means. This author mentions the pressure, but does not examine the reason for it. 

• Very few people say

"such purchases give an impression of liberty

but in fact are imposed,

because the economy depends on them."  

The next chapters show how 
social organization and beliefs
corresponded to practical needs, 
whether people were aware of it or not.

Usually not.

*     *     *

Next,
The search for profit's explosive consequences