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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 1, 2025

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The nice neighborhood isn’t just pleasant because the people there are rich, it’s pleasant because pleasant, low time preference, civilized people who have something to lose and adhere to social decorum are more likely to be rich.

To an extent I agree, but I think it's more useful to think about it in terms of who is being excluded than who is present.

Whenever I go to a restaurant where (rich, high earning, often at least moderately intelligent) clientele are dressed like disgusting slobs, which is almost all of them, the reason for their slovenliness is because of a decline in standards. It’s the same reason Elon Musk wore a t shirt to the Oval Office.

I actually kind of disagree with this. For one thing, I think that in large part it's due to the decline of payment by check and the ubiquity of reliable credit reporting and credit cards. It used to be that when people went out to engage in some transaction, the merchant was often taking a real risk on them. I still remember the days when you would walk into a store and it would be common to see a series of bounced checks taped to the wall. Dressing respectably is a (imperfect) way of signalling that you are a respectable person. Nowadays, a valid credit card / good credit score is more effective.

Another factor is counter-signalling. Guys like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg wear t-shirts as a way of saying "I'm such a big deal that I don't have to wear a suit and tie to impress people."