This article critically explores the complex and contradictory meanings attached to conspicuous consumption in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg. It examines why un(der)employed young people, especially young Black men, view the trappings of wealth in their midst and dismiss them as ‘fake’. The article shows how the widespread concern with ‘faking it’ indexes the unstable links between consumption, status, and class differentiation in a time of generalized economic insecurity. Accordingly, it maintains that the accusation of ‘fakery’ is not only about jealousy and the dangers of being seen to accumulate money without redistributing it, but also a product of the precariousness that characterizes young people's lives. Ultimately, the article shows how consumption affords a unique window into the values, aspirations, and anxieties of young un(der)employed Black men in a context where ‘proper’ pathways to social mobility are, for most, completely out of reach.

中文翻译：

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假装还是制造：南非的消费政治和社会流动性的不稳定

本文批判性地探讨了约翰内斯堡郊区非正式定居点炫耀性消费所附带的复杂而矛盾的含义。它研究了为什么失业（或未）就业的年轻人，尤其是年轻的黑人男性，认为他们中间的财富陷阱并将其视为“虚假”。这篇文章展示了对“假装”的广泛关注如何表明在普遍的经济不安全时期消费、地位和阶级分化之间的不稳定联系。因此，它认为“造假”的指控不仅是关于嫉妒和被人看到不重新分配而积累金钱的危险，也是年轻人生活不稳定的产物。最后，这篇文章展示了消费如何提供一个独特的窗口来了解价值观、愿望、