Yesterday, my YouTube feed popped up with an expose from Johnny Harris entitled, “Liberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How.” You can watch it here. The video examines the so-called “Blue States” and their role in fueling disparity of outcomes. We get dozens of these types of exposes concerning “Red States” and Republican policies so it’s quite refreshing to see the other side. When legacy media turns the mirror towards itself it’s always worth applauding.
In the video, Harris outlines 3 specific states that Democrats control all the levers of power and asks why they are some of the worst states in the nation when it comes to affordable housing and education? His conclusion was that Democrats believe a lot and say a lot when it comes to those beliefs, but often, when it affects them or their wallets they don’t put those beliefs into action. Harris is leveling (with receipts) an accusation of hypocrisy. And while he didn’t use this phrase, he’s calling out the hypocrisy of “luxury beliefs”.
Decrying Privilege While Paying No Price
Rob Henderson coined the term “luxury beliefs” after having a conversation with a former classmate at Yale who decried monogamy as not only outdated but also not good for society. Here’s the story:
A former classmate from Yale recently told me “monogamy is kind of outdated” and not good for society. So I asked her what her background is and if she planned to marry.
She said she comes from an affluent family and works at a well-known technology company. Yes, she personally intends to have a monogamous marriage — but quickly added that marriage shouldn’t have to be for everyone.
She was raised by a traditional family. She planned on having a traditional family. But she maintained that traditional families are old-fashioned and society should “evolve” beyond them.
What could explain this? (Source)
Henderson goes on to explain that instead of just buying luxury items to proclaim one’s social status, today the primary way to express oneself is with luxury beliefs. Which he defines as follows:
These are ideas and opinions that confer status on the rich at very little cost, while taking a toll on the lower class.
After hearing Henderson present this idea it’s pretty easy to expand it out beyond our partisan, racial, religious, and even social divides and see how luxury beliefs infect almost every level of our society. For our purposes, I’d like to examine one specifically that I think speaks volumes: Family.
Consequences of Luxury Beliefs
One example of luxury belief is that all family structures are equal. This is not true.
There is a mountain of evidence that having a family structure with a mom and a dad is the most beneficial for raising children (here and here for starters). And it’s not just “two parents”, there’s growing evidence that children benefit the most from having both a mom and a dad (here). Yet, we hear constantly that all family structures are not only equal but to be celebrated. And as Henderson goes on to point out:
And yet, affluent, educated people raised by two married parents are more likely than others to believe monogamy is outdated, marriage is a sham or that all families are the same.
And we’ve reaped the cost of this belief. Since the 1960s, marriage rates in non-affluent communities have dropped dramatically while in affluent communities they’ve stayed the same. Out-of-wedlock birth rates are somewhere between 10-20% higher than they were in the 60s in non-affluent communities. In the 90s, the CDC presented to Congress a breakdown of the societal effects of this trend (here) and most of them were not good. Yet, in contrast, the affluent out-of-wedlock rates mostly remained the same and because of this relative stability, the affluent continue to create and glorify a culture that says these alternative lifestyles have no consequences when for the non-affluent they do.
Henderson seems to be right:
Because, like with diamond rings or designer clothes of old, upper-class people don a luxury belief to separate themselves from the lower class. These beliefs, in turn, produce real, tangible consequences for disadvantaged people, further widening the divide. Just as fashionable clothing will soon be outdated, so will today’s fashionable beliefs. In the future, expect the upper class to defame even more values — including ones they hold dear — in their quest to gain top-dog status.