Luxury Beliefs Redistribute Harm Downward

Elites can convert status into moral positions (luxury beliefs) whose direct costs fall disproportionately on less privileged groups (public safety, education outcomes, economic burdens). Calling certain progressive or moral stances 'luxury beliefs' highlights a distributive mechanism by which cultural signaling becomes material policy harm. — Framing cultural positions as redistributive status signals reframes debates over DEI, policing, and education from identity quarrels to questions about who bears policy costs and who gains social capital.