Luxury beliefs

Extracted Attributes

• Coiner

  Rob K. Henderson

• Status

  Controversial and subjective

• Definition

  Ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class at very little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes

• Primary Usage

  Conservative political commentary to describe left-wing and liberal views

• Theoretical Basis

  Evolved from Thorstein Veblen’s 'leisure class' and concepts of cultural capital

Timeline

• Doug Lemov and co-authors describe the concept as an idea that confers social status but injures others in practical consequences. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-01-01

• Professor Matthew Goodwin argues that status is increasingly measured through the lens of ideas and beliefs rather than wealth or titles. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-01-01

• Andy Boenau publishes an analysis applying the concept of luxury beliefs to urbanism policies, including fossil fuel bans and minimum wage mandates. (Source: Urbanism Speakeasy)

  2024-07-11

Luxury belief

Luxury beliefs is a term used predominantly by conservative political commentators to describe various left-wing and liberal views. The phrase is used to portray such beliefs as being predominantly held by the privileged, and out of touch with the working class that they claim to support. The term was coined by the American writer Rob K. Henderson, who describes them as beliefs which "confer status on the upper class at very little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes". What constitutes a luxury belief may vary from person to person, and the term in general is considered to be controversial.

Web Search Results

• Luxury Beliefs are Real - by Yascha Mounk - Persuasion

  Luxury beliefs are defined as ideas and opinions that confer status on the affluent while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. And a core feature of a luxury belief is that the believer is sheltered from the consequences of his or her belief. There is this kind of element of duplicity, whether conscious or not. [...] We should all be able to recognize that the concept of luxury beliefs is intellectually useful and, if defined with a bit of care, coherent. But because we will have persistent disagreements about the nature of the social world, we will continue to disagree about, for example, whether a specific belief like “people need not get married if they have kids” constitutes a luxury belief. The concept of luxury beliefs, in other words, isn’t essentially contested. But, to coin a new phrase, its applications are likely to be persistently contested. And that, it seems to me, is a feature rather than a bug: to call an idea a luxury belief is to raise a certain kind of suspicion about its nature, one that should deepen—rather than end—the debate about it. [...] The concept of luxury beliefs falls into a similar, but subtly distinct, category. We can, I think, arrive at a coherent definition of the concept that should be acceptable to people of widely varying ideological predilections; I’ve made my best attempt at doing so in this essay. But even once we agree on the most coherent definition of the term, we will, because of its inherently evaluative nature, likely continue to disagree about the best way to apply it.

• "Luxury beliefs" are not real - Culture: An Owner's Manual

  The most compelling example of luxury beliefs has been the idea of “defunding the police” in that there is a clear class divide: proponents tend to be richer than the opponents. However, to be strictly classified as a luxury belief, not just a misguided one, Henderson has to prove (1) There is no ideological logic behind this policy preference, and (2) wealthy liberals intentionally want to worsen crime in blighted areas to make the suburbs seem like higher status places to live. [...] Henderson has indeed read a lot about status, and the idea of luxury beliefs is ostensibly grounded in Veblen, Bourdieu, and other scholars of social inequality. So I thought it would be useful to explore whether his thesis is accurate: Can beliefs be used to mark status like luxury goods? And is this how society is now organized? We first need a clear definition of "belief." Beliefs are normative: a sense of how one thinks society should be organized in opposition to alternative courses of action. They are distinct from mere ideas (a thought in one’s head) and tastes (aesthetic predilection). [...] Henderson, according to his own website, is well-known for “pioneering the concept of ‘luxury beliefs,’” a term he coined to “describe a new way of understanding the American status system.” This idea is central to his new memoir, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class, and serves as the centerpiece of his op-eds for the Wall Street Journal and The Times (UK). He defines luxury beliefs as "ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class at very little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes." Henderson sees these views as playing a major role in contemporary status marking: "Thorstein Veblen’s famous 'leisure class,' has evolved into the 'luxury belief class.'" And as the Times op-ed suggests, Henderson believes these luxury beliefs are

• Luxury belief - Wikipedia

  Luxury beliefs is a term used predominantly by conservative political commentators to describe various left-wing and liberal views. The phrase is used to portray such beliefs as being predominantly held by the privileged, and out of touch with the working class that they claim to support. The term was coined by the American writer Rob K. Henderson, who describes them as beliefs which "confer status on the upper class at very little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes". What constitutes a luxury belief may vary from person to person, and the term in general is considered to be controversial. ## Origin [edit] [...] ## Uses of the term [edit] Doug Lemov and co-authors in 2023 described Henderson's concept of the luxury belief as "an idea that confers social status on people who hold it but injures others in its practical consequences". Matthew Goodwin, professor of political science at the University of Kent, further argued in 2023 that such beliefs are held by people "who no longer measure somebody's status or moral worth through money, estates, titles or education but through the new lens of ideas and beliefs." [...] Some have argued that the belief that marriage and the nuclear family are no better than alternative family arrangements is a luxury belief, since there is evidence that family instability (which is equated to non-nuclear families, according to at least some who argue in favor of the term) is associated with poorer outcomes for children. Holding such beliefs, according to proponents of the concept, is deemed fashionable for elites but the actual effects on those involved, such as children experiencing family instability, are harmful. Henderson notes that outcomes such as rates of incarceration, college degree attainment, and substance abuse are more strongly correlated with children not living with both biological parents than with poverty: poor outcomes are more likely for children

• Luxury Beliefs are Real - Yascha Mounk

  Luxury beliefs are defined as ideas and opinions that confer status on the affluent while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. And a core feature of a luxury belief is that the believer is sheltered from the consequences of his or her belief. There is this kind of element of duplicity, whether conscious or not. [...] We should all be able to recognize that the concept of luxury beliefs is intellectually useful and, if defined with a bit of care, coherent. But because we will have persistent disagreements about the nature of the social world, we will continue to disagree about, for example, whether a specific belief like “people need not get married if they have kids” constitutes a luxury belief. The concept of luxury beliefs, in other words, isn’t essentially contested. But, to coin a new phrase, its applications are likely to be persistently contested. And that, it seems to me, is a feature rather than a bug: to call an idea a luxury belief is to raise a certain kind of suspicion about its nature, one that should deepen—rather than end—the debate about it. [...] The concept of luxury beliefs falls into a similar, but subtly distinct, category. We can, I think, arrive at a coherent definition of the concept that should be acceptable to people of widely varying ideological predilections; I’ve made my best attempt at doing so in this essay. But even once we agree on the most coherent definition of the term, we will, because of its inherently evaluative nature, likely continue to disagree about the best way to apply it.

• Luxury Beliefs applied to urbanism

  > > Expressing a luxury belief is a manifestation of cultural capital, a signal of one’s fortunate economic circumstances. The chief purpose of luxury beliefs is to indicate evidence of the believer’s social class and education. > > Members of the luxury belief class promote these ideas because it advances their social standing and because they know that the adoption of these policies or beliefs will cost them less than others. > > —Rob Henderson’s Newsletter [...] ### “It’ll cost you, but it’s worth it.” Luxury beliefs might be easy to spot in your political opponents, but I think it’s worthwhile to take a closer look at urbanism policies. Using Rob Henderson’s definition, there might be a longer list than we’d like to admit. Each of these is a candidate: Ban fossil fuels. Replace ICE with EV. Preserve green space. Preserve historical integrity. Remove blight. Protect natural habitats. Abolish police cameras. Mandate universal design. Prohibit single staircase buildings. Increase minimum wage. Mandate minimum parking. [...] # Urbanism Speakeasy with Andy Boenau # Luxury Beliefs applied to urbanism ### There are transportation and housing ideas that confer status on the upper class while often inflicting costs on the lower class. Andy Boenau Jul 11, 2024 Rob Henderson’s concept of luxury beliefs posits that certain social and cultural beliefs serve as status symbols among the wealthy, much like luxury goods. These beliefs allow the affluent to signal their social status and moral superiority without incurring significant personal costs. Instead, the costs are passed to less privileged people groups, exacerbating social and economic disparities. For instance…