We recently discussed Rob Henderson’s Luxury Beliefs, the idea being that if people buy expensive luxury goods to showcase how well-off they are, people also hold “expensive” beliefs for the same reason.
This idea is not new: Jared Diamond has suggested one reason people engage in displays such as drinking, smoking, drug use, and other costly behaviors is because they serve as fitness indicators. The message is:
I’m so healthy I can afford to poison my body and continue to function.Saying,
I’m willing to redistribute my money and statusis a costly but effective way of signaling,I’m so secure in my status and money that I can afford giving it away, seeing as I have a surplus of both.
This is what being an elite is about, after all. It’s not about money, although money plays a crucial role. It’s not even about education, though education plays a large role as well. It’s more about the set of behaviors and dispositions that indicate a person to be a member of the elite — which center around wanting to change the world. Recall we discussed the leveling and importance game: Wanting to change the world hits the sweet spot because it shows how important one is (you can afford worrying about the planet and not your rent), while also highlighting one’s empathy (wanting to take care of the less fortunate).
Which is the whole point of being an elite. It’s what separates a person from simply being a bourgeois. Aristocrats want to *matter*. Bourgeoisie just want comfort and safety. Meanwhile proletariats just want to put food on the table.
Erik Torenberg
Interesting perspective about the motivations of elites (although I feel the author is purposely conflating ‘elites’ with the ultrarich – you can have elites in particular fields like medicine or physics without the economic means to ‘change the world’). These are plenty of examples of billionaires spending on immensely expensive goods, from private islands to luxury yachts. I think the recent trend of influential people buying social media channels (Elon Musk acquiring Twitter, Trump launching Truth Social, Kanye West attempting to buy Parler, although this last one didn’t go through) can be ascribed to the same inclination of would-be aristocrats to shape the wider world by reinforcing their message.
Come to think of it, Elon Musk is the prime example of modern-day aristocracy as depicted in this article: most of his businesses and projects are overtly designed to challenge existing systems: Tesla wants to drive electrifications of automobiles, SpaceX to democratize access to space launches – and to satellite internet through Starlink, Neuralink to connect human brains to computers, he invested in robotics for yet unclear reasons, and now onto full control of Twitter! But with each subsequent project, the returns are diminishing and costs and downsides are accumulating, highlighting the issues of having a single person in charge, responsible for the transformation of entire industries and societies. An individual cannot possibly account for all the negative effects of his initiatives, especially someone like Musk who obviously couldn’t care less what happens to people around him as long as he becomes richer and more famous in the process.
Post a Comment