Status Inversion Explains Anti‑Expertism

Populist rejection of experts works less because of facts and more because accepting expert help or deference would be a status loss — people treat expert authority as an affront to dignity and repay it by embracing 'common sense' that restores social standing. This framing makes refusal of expertise a social defense rather than a purely epistemic disagreement. — If true, policy and communications strategies that ignore status dynamics will fail; effective engagement must avoid humiliating or signaling superiority to reach skeptical publics.