I Have Never, Ever, Not Even Once, Used The Term “Liberal Elites”

Don’t let partisanship disable your ability to think clearly about social class

Yesterday, a reader alerted me to this opinion piece by New York Times columnist Jessica Grose.

You can read it here. 

Responding to my recent podcast with Yascha Mounk, Grose takes exception to my idea of luxury beliefs as applied to the importance of married parents for young children. 

Weirdly, Grose wrote, “Henderson said liberal elites avoid talking about the norms they pass on to their children because they’re afraid to sound judgmental.” 

Let me just say that I have never used the term “liberal elites.” Never in my entire life. Not even once. 

Nowhere in my original article on luxury beliefs will you find the term “liberal elites.” 

You won’t find it in my follow-up article in Quillette. 

You won’t find the term anywhere on this Substack. 

I don’t use the term. But I always find it interesting that, so incredibly often, it’s what people (particularly cultural elites) hear. 

To me, it’s like someone saying, “People need to stop polluting the ocean (or whatever)” and listeners repeatedly shouting back, “Hey why are you attacking conservatives?” 

It’s what you call a “tell.”