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{{Short description|Economic theory by Terry Pratchett}}
[[File:Boots (drawing).jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|A sketch of a boot]]
The '''Sam Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness''', often called simply the '''boots theory''', is an [[economic theory]] that people in poverty have to buy cheap and subpar products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items. The term was coined by English fantasy writer Sir [[Terry Pratchett]] in his 1993 ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Men at Arms]]''. In the novel, [[Sam Vimes]], the captain of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], illustrates the concept with the example of boots.

The theory has been cited with regard to analyses of the prices of boots, fuel prices, and economic conditions in the [[United Kingdom]]. 

== Conception ==
In the ''[[Discworld]]'' series of novels by [[Terry Pratchett]], [[Sam Vimes]] is the cynical but likable captain of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]] of the fictional city-state of [[Ankh-Morpork]].<ref name="Flood">{{Cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=2022-01-26|title=Terry Pratchett estate backs Jack Monroe's idea for 'Vimes Boots' poverty index|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/26/terry-pratchett-jack-monroe-vimes-boots-poverty-index|access-date=2022-02-05|archive-date=2022-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329192126/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/26/terry-pratchett-jack-monroe-vimes-boots-poverty-index|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Richards">{{Cite news |last=Richards |first=Carl |date=2016-02-01 |title=Spend the Money for the Good Boots, and Wear Them Forever |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/your-money/spend-the-money-for-the-good-boots-and-wear-them-forever.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=2023-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520182351/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/your-money/spend-the-money-for-the-good-boots-and-wear-them-forever.html |archive-date=2023-05-20 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In the 1993 novel ''[[Men at Arms]]'', the second novel focusing on the City Watch through Vimes' perspective, Pratchett introduces the "Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness" through Vimes musing on how expensive it is to be poor:<ref name="Richards" /><ref name="Whitbrook">{{Cite news |last=Whitbrook |first=Jack |date=2022-01-26 |title=Discworld's Famous 'Boots Theory' Is Putting a Spotlight On Poverty in the UK |language=en |work=[[Gizmodo]] |url=https://gizmodo.com/jack-monroe-vimes-boots-index-discworld-terry-pratchett-1848426453 |access-date=2023-05-20 |archive-date=2023-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520182345/https://gizmodo.com/jack-monroe-vimes-boots-index-discworld-terry-pratchett-1848426453 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and ''would still have wet feet''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pratchett |first=Terry |title=Men at Arms |date=1993 |publisher=Gollancz |isbn=0-575-05503-0 |location=London |pages=32 |oclc=29470107}}</ref>
}}

In the ''[[New Statesman]]'', Marc Burrows hypothesized Pratchett drew inspiration from [[Robert Tressell]]'s 1914 novel ''[[The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists]]''.<ref name="Burrows">{{Cite news|last=Burrows|first=Marc|date=2022-01-28|title=Your best ally against injustice? Terry Pratchett|language=en-US|work=[[New Statesman]]|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/your-best-ally-against-injustice-terry-pratchett|access-date=2022-02-09|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215055412/https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/your-best-ally-against-injustice-terry-pratchett|url-status=live}}</ref> In the book ''Fashion in the Fairy Tale Tradition'', Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario argued "shoes and economic autonomy are inexorably linked" in fairy tales, citing the Boots' theory as "particularly relevant" and "an insightful metaphor for inequality".<ref name="Do Rozario">{{Cite book |last=Do Rozario |first=Rebecca-Anne C. |title=Fashion in the Fairy Tale Tradition: What Cinderella Wore |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-319-91100-7 |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=180, 213 |chapter=Shoes, the Sole of Fairy Tale: Stepping Between Desire and Damnation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_VeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA180}}</ref>

== Examples ==
Since the publication of ''Men at Arms'', others have also made reference to the theory. In 2013, an 
article by the US [[ConsumerAffairs]] made reference to the theory in regard to purchasing items on credit, specifically regarding children's boots from the retailer [[Fingerhut]]; a $25 pair of boots, at the interest rates being offered, would cost $37 if purchased over seven months.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abel |first=Jennifer |date=2013-11-14 |title=Fingerhut boots and the Vimes' Boots paradox |url=https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/fingerhut-boots-and-the-vimes-boots-paradox-111413.html |access-date=2022-02-08 |newspaper=[[ConsumerAffairs]] |language=en |archive-date=2022-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208213650/https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/fingerhut-boots-and-the-vimes-boots-paradox-111413.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, the left-wing blog ''Dorset Eye'' also ran an article discussing the theory, giving [[fuel poverty in the United Kingdom]] as an example of its application, citing a 2014 [[Office for National Statistics]] (ONS) report that those who pre-paid for electricity—who were most likely to be subject to fuel poverty—paid 8% more on their electricity bills than those who paid by [[direct debit]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deverell |first=Mike |date=2016-01-05 |title=Mike Deverell discusses five reasons why those with less end up paying more |url=https://dorseteye.com/mike-deverell-discusses-five-reasons-why-those-with-less-end-up-paying-more/ |website=[[Dorset Eye]] |language=en-GB |access-date=2022-02-08 |archive-date=2022-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208210654/https://dorseteye.com/mike-deverell-discusses-five-reasons-why-those-with-less-end-up-paying-more/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a 2020 discussion paper for the Social and Political Research Foundation, Sitara Srinivas used the theory to analyze how [[sustainable fashion]] is inaccessible compared to [[fast fashion]].<ref name="Srinivas">{{Cite report |url=https://sprf.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Sustainability-and-Fast-Fashion.pdf |title=STITCHING A NEW NARRATIVE: ENGAGING WITH SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY |last=Srinivas |first=Sitara |year=2020 |access-date=2023-06-14 |archive-date=2023-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516010117/https://sprf.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Sustainability-and-Fast-Fashion.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In an article titled "The Price of Poverty" published in ''[[Tribune Magazine]]'' in 2022, the theory was cited as explaining the economic predicament in the United Kingdom. Examples provided included the higher cost of renting compared to home ownership, higher interest rates for loans to impoverished people, the effects of food poverty on educational advancement, and healthcare costs.<ref name="Deer">{{Cite news |last=Deer |first=Rae |date=2022-06-23 |title=The Price of Poverty |language=en-GB |volume=57 |work=Tribune Magazine |issue=2 |url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/06/inflation-prices-cost-of-living-crisis-energy-food-housing |access-date=2022-09-23 |issn=0195-6663 |archive-date=2022-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923025005/https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/06/inflation-prices-cost-of-living-crisis-energy-food-housing |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Bulk purchasing}}
* {{annotated link|Cost of poverty}}
* [[Circular cumulative causation]]
* {{annotated link|Cycle of poverty}}
* {{annotated link|Debtor's prison}}
* {{annotated link|Dishonoured cheque}}
* {{annotated link|False economy}}
* {{annotated link|Inferior good}}
* ''[[Nickel and Dimed]]''
* {{annotated link|Overdraft}}
* {{annotated link|Pay-to-stay (imprisonment)}}
* {{annotated link|Poverty industry}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{discworld|state=collapsed}}
{{Poverty|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Discworld]]
[[Category:Economic theories]]
[[Category:Microeconomics]]
[[Category:Boots]]
[[Category:Economy of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Economic inequality]]
[[Category:Poverty]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Bulk purchasing (edit)
Cost of poverty (edit)
Cycle of poverty (edit)
Debtor's prison (edit)
Debtors' prison (edit)
Dishonoured cheque (edit)
False economy (edit)
Inferior good (edit)
Overdraft (edit)
Pay-to-stay (imprisonment) (edit)
Poverty industry (edit)
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