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David Lanson
http://www.David-Lanson.com
“Focusing on "representation" rather than helping the downtrodden is another luxury belief.”
― Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
― Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
“Appointing unqualified figures is a key tactic of authoritarians, who turn to staffers who are fiercely loyal because they are not qualified or talented enough to rise to power in a nonpartisan system. They recognize that without the leader who elevated them, they will never again be in power—and sometimes will be in prison—so they will cleave to him to the end.”
― Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
― Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
“The 1500s became the first hundred-year period to be proclaimed a century—and the first to be affixed a century number.”
― The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
― The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
“Enlightenment thinkers had rejected leadership based on religion or birth, arguing instead that society moved forward when people made good choices after hearing arguments based on fact.”
― Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
― Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
“Luxury beliefs’ are the latest status symbol for rich Americans” by Rob Henderson
New York Post, August 3, 2022
In the past, upper-class Americans used to display their social status with luxury goods. Today, they do it with luxury beliefs.
People care a lot about social status. In fact, research indicates that respect and admiration from our peers are even more important than money for our sense of well-being.
...as trendy clothes and other products become more accessible and affordable, there is increasingly less status attached to luxury goods.
The upper classes have found a clever solution to this problem: luxury beliefs. These are ideas and opinions that confer status on the rich at very little cost, while taking a toll on the lower class.
‘Upper-class people don a luxury belief to separate themselves from the lower class’ ...
White privilege is the luxury belief that took me the longest to understand, because I grew up around poor whites. Often members of the upper-class claim that racial disparities stem from inherent advantages held by whites. Yet Asian Americans are more educated, have higher earnings and live longer than whites. Affluent whites are the most enthusiastic about the idea of white privilege, yet they are the least likely to incur any costs for promoting that belief. Rather, they raise their social standing by talking about their privilege.
In other words, upper-class whites gain status by talking about their high status. When laws are enacted to combat white privilege, it won’t be the privileged whites who are harmed. Poor whites will bear the brunt.
... 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.”
―
New York Post, August 3, 2022
In the past, upper-class Americans used to display their social status with luxury goods. Today, they do it with luxury beliefs.
People care a lot about social status. In fact, research indicates that respect and admiration from our peers are even more important than money for our sense of well-being.
...as trendy clothes and other products become more accessible and affordable, there is increasingly less status attached to luxury goods.
The upper classes have found a clever solution to this problem: luxury beliefs. These are ideas and opinions that confer status on the rich at very little cost, while taking a toll on the lower class.
‘Upper-class people don a luxury belief to separate themselves from the lower class’ ...
White privilege is the luxury belief that took me the longest to understand, because I grew up around poor whites. Often members of the upper-class claim that racial disparities stem from inherent advantages held by whites. Yet Asian Americans are more educated, have higher earnings and live longer than whites. Affluent whites are the most enthusiastic about the idea of white privilege, yet they are the least likely to incur any costs for promoting that belief. Rather, they raise their social standing by talking about their privilege.
In other words, upper-class whites gain status by talking about their high status. When laws are enacted to combat white privilege, it won’t be the privileged whites who are harmed. Poor whites will bear the brunt.
... 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.”
―
David’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at David’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
87 books
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130 friends
703 books
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199 friends
150 books
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88 friends
18 books
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84 friends
454 books
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332 friends
964 books
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115 friends
4,569 books
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101 friends
2,270 books
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118 friends
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