Voltaire’s poem “The Worldling or the Man of the World” (Le Mondain, 1736) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “Discourse on Political Economy” (Discours sur l’économie politique, 1755), both translated into Serbian for the first time here, follow Maja Solar’s foreword that discusses the philosophical and historical Debate on Luxury. The book concentrates on eighteenth-century France (but also England), as the time and place of flourishing of the topic, even though the discussion on luxury has a longer history. Through two paradigmatic texts, the book illustrates the lines of apology and critique of luxury. The debate on luxury covers a wide range of issues, including considerations of desires and needs, excess and necessity, particular and public interest, consumption and production systems, and the distinctions between pre-capitalist and capitalist forms of luxury. While Voltaire thinks about (and defends) luxury largely in connection with new forms of sociability, high society, and the culture of politeness, Rousseau develops a critique of luxury as an ethical, political, and economic issue of social relations. The latter’s denunciation of luxury had a significant impact since it brought class stratification into the discussion and demonstrated how luxury produces social antagonisms rather than the convergence of private interests with the public good.