My Authors
Read all threads
Rob Henderson's theory of "Luxury Beliefs".

People buy luxury goods in order to showcase how rich they are.

It's precisely b/c they're useless that it brings high status, b/c only wealthy can afford them.

The message is: "I'm so rich I can afford to waste money on this."
But today, luxury goods are more affordable than before.

And in a remote world, they're harder to show off.

Thus, they're less reliable as indicators of social status.

Amplified by social media, status has shifted to the beliefs we express.

Hence, Luxury beliefs.
It's not new:

"Jared Diamond has suggested that one reason ppl engage in displays such as drinking, smoking, drug use, & other costly behaviors is b/c they serve as fitness indicators.

The message is:'I’m so healthy that I can afford to poison my body and continue to function".
Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that confer status on the rich at very little cost, while taking a toll on the lower class

They're the ideological equivalent of a luxury good: They signal how well-off people are that they can afford to have beliefs that make them worse off
The tragedy w/ luxury beliefs is that, since they're free, & since the non-elites aspire to eliteness, the beliefs themselves trickle down to the masses.

But since being high status means avoiding what the masses are doing, as soon as the masses adopt them, the elites drop them.
The tragedy is that these luxury beliefs are originated by the elites, who get the benefits of short-term high status, but the long-term costs are ultimately borne by the masses.

It'd be as if the masses bought a ton of expensive shit they didn't need & became saddled w/ debt.
Polyamory is an example, popularized by the affluent who often end up in monogamous relationships after flirting w/ polyamory.

The elites are in a better position to experiment since they can afford protection (& abortion if needed) & can recover thx to financial/social capital.
Cycle: An elite flaunts their belief, the masses copy it, so the elite discards it.

Then a new luxury belief emerges, while the old one causes chaos for the masses

Goods could only cause limited damage b/c they were expensive. Beliefs are free & viral

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with Erik Torenberg

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!