Sometimes, ideas become accepted because there is so much evidence in support of them that it would be perverse to believe otherwise (e.g., the Earth is round).

Sometimes, ideas become accepted because there is so much evidence in support of them that it would be perverse to believe otherwise (e.g., the Earth is round). Other times, however, ideas become widely accepted, even entrenched, without any real evidence. Such entrenched beliefs often arise because they support particular political or moral agendas; if the beliefs are falsified, the moral agenda will be threatened. The academic views on inequality fall firmly in the latter category.