Chapter 4 follows the familiar scenario of a consumer society set in an Egyptian context, in which the spread of mass consumption creates heightened social competition over the purchase and use of commodities, and the consequent critique of such competition. This chapter documents rising consumer expectations of better housing and quicker household accumulation of appliances and furnishings; in such an environment, the material standard-of-living improved. Concurrently, a large segment of the middle class continued living close to a newly defined, real and imagined, subsistence line. Growing economic inequality and the intensification of social distinctions based on elevated consumption contributed to an increase in social anxiety, a fear of falling behind. Public commentaries were concerned about selfish and individualistic values infiltrating Egyptian families, due to enhanced commercialization and consumerism. The critics railed against ‘provocative consumers’, who promoted social competition over ownership and the use of things, associating such selfishness with social disintegration. Notably, Egyptian public discourse showed growing concern regarding the rising marital age and growing inter-gender friction within families and society. Many also argued that the contemporary economic transformation had created a disparity between respectable work and suitable consumption. The frequent public calls for social and state containment of rampant consumption were scarcely met by state action--further contributing to the growing disappointment with the state, for failing to restrain ‘provocative consumption’, as well as not protecting the middle class against the outcome of such unbridled practices.