Delving into the concept of luxury beliefs, this chapter explores how they intersect with class and political dynamics. The discussion highlights how certain ideas confer status on the affluent while imposing costs on lower classes, especially within shifting political environments. It also touches on the impact of meritocracy and the need to consider alternative paths for fulfillment beyond traditional academic success.
Friend-of-the-show Rob Henderson returns to discuss his powerful, moving and important debut book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (published TODAY). We discuss Rob’s experience of the American foster care and adoption system, the life-changing impact of the military, the rise of Luxury Beliefs, the benefits of standardized testing, and MUCH more.
Important Links:
Show Notes:
- Foster Care, Adoption & Social Mobility
- Structural Origins of the Foster System
- Why Early-Life Stability is Underrated
- How Ideas Can Change Outcomes
- The Life-Changing Impact of the Military
- Young Male Syndrome
- The Role of Intelligence in Governing Outcomes
- The Benefits of Standardized Testing
- Yale, Luxury Beliefs & the Rise of Identity Politics
- Are Luxury Beliefs a Political or Class Phenomenon?
- Trickle-Down Meritocracy
- Technology, Assortive Mating & Social Mobility
- Is the Overton Window Shifting on Campus?
- Rob as Emperor of the World
Books and Articles Mentioned: