“Upward social mobility shouldn’t be our priority as a society. Rather, it should be the side effect of far more important things: family, stability and emotional security for children.” – Rob Henderson

Rob Henderson of the Manhattan Institute kicked off the third season of our Voices that Inspire series with a powerful talk on the importance of time-tested norms and values, and their counterfeit impostors – luxury beliefs.

Rob defines said ideas as those that confer status on the upper class at very little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes.

The dismissal of clear, prescriptive ideas about family and social norms is an example of what I would call a luxury belief – something easy to espouse as it sounds virtuous for its inclusivity and compassionate for its empathy, but in fact costs little to hold, to the great detriment of those who bear the consequences of the cultural prominence these ideas now possess.

Henderson argues that many of the most fashionable ideas in elite culture function as “luxury beliefs”—beliefs that confer prestige on the affluent while imposing consequences on the less privileged. In areas ranging from family structure and crime policy to education and social norms, he contends that elite discourse often downplays the very cultural institutions—stable families, strong communities, shared moral expectations—that social science consistently shows are essential to human flourishing.

Drawing on his background in social science and psychology and his own unlikely journey—from foster care to military service to elite universities—Henderson examines how cultural norms shape opportunity and why the values most dismissed by elite institutions often prove most important for social mobility and well-being.

The talk is chalked full of gems, but I do love MLI founder Brian Crowley’s characterization of the trend in social ideas over the past century and his list of luxury beliefs:

“The history of the 20th century is the abandonment of what works for what sounds good. Elites have developed a set of values not because they believe of them, but because believing them sets them aside from the great unwashed. Things like….Marriage is just a piece of paper and doesn’t matter; prostitution and drug use are victimless crimes; it’s wrong to judge people for the choices they make in life; if people come from difficult circumstances they can’t be held responsible for their actions now; any success I enjoy isn’t due to my hard work, but luck.”

Rob is a tremendous story teller and reminds us that a stable and loving family environment means more than the world’s greatest achievements.