Rob Henderson’s concept of “luxury beliefs” highlights cultural and political ideas promoted by society’s elite to signal support for the disadvantaged while actually making life harder for those at the bottom. In his memoir Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class, Henderson explores how these beliefs can have harmful real-world implications by influencing policy in ways that worsen inequality. While most discussions around luxury beliefs have focused on the left, writer Jesse Singal raises the question of luxury beliefs on the right. The New Right, a faction within the political right, supports policies that benefit themselves while claiming to help workers, but in reality, these policies harm the very people they purport to assist. For example, their push for protectionism and industrial policy may raise prices for essential goods, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals. The New Right’s embrace of protectionism and industrial policy, while claiming to support workers, ultimately benefits the elite at the expense of those with less power and privilege. Ultimately, these luxury beliefs are costly and counterproductive both for individuals and the economy as a whole.