Category: Politics

The upper class now signals status less with goods and more with beliefs that are costly for others to adopt or endure. Drawing on Veblen, Bourdieu, and costly signaling in biology, the argument holds that elite endorsements (e.g., 'defund the police') function like top hats—visible distinction that shifts burdens onto lower classes. — It reframes culture‑war positions as class signaling, clarifying why some popular elite ideas persist despite uneven costs and policy failures.

The Senate advanced a 27‑bill package (the ROAD to Housing Act) co‑authored by Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott that centers on boosting supply via federal incentives, technical assistance, financing fixes, and regulatory streamlining. It cleared the Banking Committee 24–0 and then passed the Senate, an unusually broad coalition for a substantive housing bill. — A bipartisan, supply‑first federal housing bill suggests a national pivot toward YIMBY policy and a new template—carrots and de‑friction—by which Washington can influence local housing markets.

People who rise from the bottom tend to prefer reform and stability, while those sliding from the top are more inclined toward board‑flipping radicalism. Genteel poverty (networks and cultural fluency) cushions elite falls, but the sting of status loss still drives aggressive ideology. This heuristic helps explain why some highly educated elites embrace redistributive and revolutionary narratives. — It offers a concrete lens to anticipate where radicalization and intra‑elite conflict will emerge, informing analysis of movements and policy coalitions.