Luxury beliefs

Luxury beliefs is a term coined by social commentator Rob Henderson^[1] from research in sociology ^[2] to describe the trend among affluent Americans to use their beliefs as a way to display their social status.

Details

According to Henderson, luxury beliefs are ideas or values that confer status on the wealthy, but are not fully embraced or practiced by them. These beliefs are often expressed in a performative way, such as through social media posts or conspicuous consumption of products that signal virtue. The idea is that using luxury goods or positional goods to convey social status is no longer viable in an affluent society, and therefore certain beliefs are used instead.^[3] These 'luxury beliefs' convey status for the rich at low costs, while maintaining a social hierarchy because those in lower classes will act out these beliefs, causing them to stay poor.^[4]

Critics of luxury beliefs argue that they are often hypocritical and insincere. For example, a wealthy person who advocates for environmentalism while flying on private jets or driving luxury cars may be seen as a hypocrite. Others argue that luxury beliefs are a distraction from more pressing social issues, and that the wealthy should focus on using their resources to make a tangible difference in the world.

Many examples of luxury beliefs have been proffered:

• That family stability doesn't matter, and therefore marriage doesn't matter.^[5][1]
• That one should send their children to public schools.^[4]
• Legalization of drugs.^[3]
• Defunding police.^[3][6]
• That individual decisions don't matter compared to random social forces or luck.^[1]
• White privilege.^[1]
• Wokeness.^[6]
• Immigration policy.^[6]
• Environmentalism.^[7]

See also

• Behavioral economics
• Commodity fetishism
• Conspicuous consumption
• Hype culture
• Luxury goods
• Signaling theory
• Virtue signalling
• Wealth effect

References

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