Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

People are inclined to positively evaluate those who have suffered.20 Plainly, if people think you are a victim, they will be more likely to excuse your detestable behaviors.

In fact, research has revealed that sociometric status (respect and admiration from peers) is more important for well-being than socioeconomic status.

In other words, a poor kid in the US is nearly four times more likely to graduate from college than a foster kid.

That’s never been my intention—I don’t want pity. I’m one of the lucky ones.

Furthermore, it is harder for wealthy people to claim the mantle of victimhood, which, among the affluent, is often a key ingredient to be seen as a righteous person.

That’s the practical purpose of memory—to avoid making future mistakes.

This is perhaps why a 2019 survey found that less than half of Americans without a college degree want to legalize drugs, but more than 60 percent of Americans with a bachelor’s degree or higher are in favor of drug legalization.14 Drugs are frequently considered a recreational pastime for the rich, but for the poor they are often a gateway to furt

One study tracked more than six thousand young adults in the US at the beginning of their careers over the course of two decades, and found that those who believed that life’s outcomes are due to their own efforts as opposed to external factors became more successful in their careers and went on to attain higher earnings.25

The luxury belief class claims that the unhappiness associated with certain behaviors and choices primarily stems from the negative social judgments they elicit, rather than the behaviors and choices themselves. But, in fact, negative social judgments often serve as guardrails to deter detrimental decisions that lead to unhappiness. In order to avo