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Read the rules in the OP before posting, please.

In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up!

NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious.
Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action.
WhiteDog
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France8650 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-27 23:04:27
February 27 2014 23:01 GMT
#18141
On February 28 2014 08:00 oneofthem wrote:


this one it seems. pretty hard to understand him with the french accent lol

He has a shitty accent, like a proud french !
"every time WhiteDog overuses the word "seriously" in a comment I can make an observation on his fragile emotional state." MoltkeWarding
Wolfstan
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada605 Posts
February 27 2014 23:29 GMT
#18142
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21597925-want-make-america-less-unequal-here-are-some-suggestions-memo-obama

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2014/02/27-tackling-social-mobility-black-men-reeves

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/lineage-lottery-the-myth-of-social-mobility-9152960.html

Some articles I just read on social mobility.
Neither the right nor left oppose it, however the the causes and solutions are much debated.
Since western civilization doesn't have defined classes there seems to be consensus that wealth quintiles are the rungs on the ladder. Is 20% chance to land on any rung or having there be no wealth difference at all the desired outcome for the left?
EG - ROOT - Gambit Gaming
oneofthem
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
February 27 2014 23:36 GMT
#18143
having a target state of affairs is pretty bad. rather, look at bad mechanisms and try to fix those. it's marginal thinking
We have fed the heart on fantasies, the heart's grown brutal from the fare, more substance in our enmities than in our love
JonnyBNoHo
Profile Joined July 2011
United States6277 Posts
February 28 2014 00:11 GMT
#18144
On February 28 2014 07:27 oneofthem wrote:
if we are talking about the brutality or viciousness of exploitation, then the ancient world has us beat. but in other ways our modern world is similarly stratified, and this modern inequality is not totally accounted for by simple power exploitation.

the true saying of rich gets richer is basically how modern inequality works and it's largely about the return of capital being higher than labor and human capital.

Isn't it more an issue of different labor pay rates?

ex. the big corporate CEO gets paid a lot for his labor, but the janitor cleaning the office doesn't.
JonnyBNoHo
Profile Joined July 2011
United States6277 Posts
February 28 2014 00:14 GMT
#18145
On February 28 2014 06:25 WhiteDog wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 06:17 Livelovedie wrote:
On February 28 2014 06:08 WhiteDog wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:55 Livelovedie wrote:
So essentially it is just rejecting the concept of scarcity as the means to determine value? I added some more questions if you're bored and want to further educate .

Well I could write a lot to respond to this question and I might go so far that I would lost you, so I will stick to Ossowski's distinction (in the famous book Class structure in the social consciousness). For communism, a society is made of social class. The bigger difference between stratification (a hierarchy of various social group from the bottom to the top, in the form of a pyramid) and social class, is that the first one is a "scheme of gradation" while the other is a "scheme of dependancy".

Implying that scarcity determine value only have sense from a stratification standpoint : there are fewer people at the top, thus their skills are more valuable. From a social class standpoint, the hearth of the theory is the idea that all social group a dependant upon another. A society is the result of the action of all of its members, and it is impossible to actually isolate the "skill" of one member.
It's a core distinction, that seems quite ridiculous from a microeconomic standpoint (I can clearly see that some skill are more useful than others in specific situation) but very interesting from a macroeconomic standpoint (is it possible for me to evaluate the productivity of one member ? of a specific group of people ? No, because their actions are always intertwined with the action of others, making a society).

I'm not sure I responded to the question.

Ah ok it gets back to the point that you cannot isolate someone from externalities. You can measure productivity but not with all things equal sort of thing? I hope that's essentially what I was suppose to take away .

You can (in economy) measure productivity for an entire factor (capital, labor, or both) but not for a specific man.

Sort of? Some jobs are pretty opaque in that respect, but I don't think it's that cut and dry.
oneofthem
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 00:53:53
February 28 2014 00:21 GMT
#18146
On February 28 2014 09:11 JonnyBNoHo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 07:27 oneofthem wrote:
if we are talking about the brutality or viciousness of exploitation, then the ancient world has us beat. but in other ways our modern world is similarly stratified, and this modern inequality is not totally accounted for by simple power exploitation.

the true saying of rich gets richer is basically how modern inequality works and it's largely about the return of capital being higher than labor and human capital.

Isn't it more an issue of different labor pay rates?

ex. the big corporate CEO gets paid a lot for his labor, but the janitor cleaning the office doesn't.

labor stratification has its own can of worms (largely financial market efficiency, management philosphy changes, automation and all sorts of globalization/labor loss of leverage etc), but the issue of rich getting richer is basically the rising rent of having money. you can sit on assets and collect rent, managed by someone else.
We have fed the heart on fantasies, the heart's grown brutal from the fare, more substance in our enmities than in our love
WhiteDog
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France8650 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 00:30:36
February 28 2014 00:21 GMT
#18147
On February 28 2014 09:11 JonnyBNoHo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 07:27 oneofthem wrote:
if we are talking about the brutality or viciousness of exploitation, then the ancient world has us beat. but in other ways our modern world is similarly stratified, and this modern inequality is not totally accounted for by simple power exploitation.

the true saying of rich gets richer is basically how modern inequality works and it's largely about the return of capital being higher than labor and human capital.

Isn't it more an issue of different labor pay rates?

ex. the big corporate CEO gets paid a lot for his labor, but the janitor cleaning the office doesn't.

No it's not.
Basically since 30 years the top 1% gain less and less from labor and more and more from patrimony, in europe and the US (I gave some numbers but that seems wrongs, and I don't want to open a book right now).

On February 28 2014 09:14 JonnyBNoHo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 06:25 WhiteDog wrote:
On February 28 2014 06:17 Livelovedie wrote:
On February 28 2014 06:08 WhiteDog wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:55 Livelovedie wrote:
So essentially it is just rejecting the concept of scarcity as the means to determine value? I added some more questions if you're bored and want to further educate .

Well I could write a lot to respond to this question and I might go so far that I would lost you, so I will stick to Ossowski's distinction (in the famous book Class structure in the social consciousness). For communism, a society is made of social class. The bigger difference between stratification (a hierarchy of various social group from the bottom to the top, in the form of a pyramid) and social class, is that the first one is a "scheme of gradation" while the other is a "scheme of dependancy".

Implying that scarcity determine value only have sense from a stratification standpoint : there are fewer people at the top, thus their skills are more valuable. From a social class standpoint, the hearth of the theory is the idea that all social group a dependant upon another. A society is the result of the action of all of its members, and it is impossible to actually isolate the "skill" of one member.
It's a core distinction, that seems quite ridiculous from a microeconomic standpoint (I can clearly see that some skill are more useful than others in specific situation) but very interesting from a macroeconomic standpoint (is it possible for me to evaluate the productivity of one member ? of a specific group of people ? No, because their actions are always intertwined with the action of others, making a society).

I'm not sure I responded to the question.

Ah ok it gets back to the point that you cannot isolate someone from externalities. You can measure productivity but not with all things equal sort of thing? I hope that's essentially what I was suppose to take away .

You can (in economy) measure productivity for an entire factor (capital, labor, or both) but not for a specific man.

Sort of? Some jobs are pretty opaque in that respect, but I don't think it's that cut and dry.

Yes that's cut and dry.
"every time WhiteDog overuses the word "seriously" in a comment I can make an observation on his fragile emotional state." MoltkeWarding
farvacola
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States18846 Posts
February 28 2014 00:25 GMT
#18148
On February 28 2014 07:04 Wolfstan wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 06:20 farvacola wrote:
On February 28 2014 06:12 Stratos_speAr wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:56 Wolfstan wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:42 WhiteDog wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:38 Wolfstan wrote:
On February 28 2014 05:13 WhiteDog wrote:
On February 28 2014 04:37 Wolfstan wrote:
On February 28 2014 02:56 farvacola wrote:
It truly is astounding how flimsy the rhetoric of the Right is these days. To suggest that hard-working people categorically avoid misfortune is to literally know nothing about how humans have lived for hundreds of years.


Avoidance of misfortune is not the goal on the right. My concern is protecting the ability to excel, not so much the fear of avoiding misfortune.

An abundance of paths to prosperity are desirable goals allowing citizens to achieve happiness.
If you are smarter than your neighbours, you can succeed.
If you are better looking than others, you can get yours.
If you work harder than your peers you can achieve your goals.
If you are more talented, your can get rich off your strengths.

If you take risks, those risks can yield results.
If you are patient with strong willpower, the accumulation of your restraints is yours to enjoy.
Anything that discourages or eliminates these opportunities, I and many on the right will vehemently oppose.

This is bullshit, and there are so many proof about that that I don't even know where to start. You can believe in whatever you want, but don't state bullshit as facts please, it's embarrassing.

The two I bolded are absolutly stupid. Getting rich off your strengths ? Haha amazing. In basket ball maybe...


There is a difference between an opportunity and a guarantee of success. Not everyone who tries has to succeed. I assume you are trying to defend the guy who "works hard" shows up everyday, and goes home with a sore back as opposed to the CEO who plays golf from 9 to 5?

Edit: Basketball players getting rich is a good thing about our system we have set up, I don't see Jordan getting as wealthy as he has under the lefts proposed ruleset.

It's not a question of "opportunity" it's a question of facts. Fact is, our society needs to reproduce itself. Fact is, when you are rich you have more opportunities, fact is the history is full of amazing people who could not give what they could to the society just because they were poor, fact is 99% of rich people comes from rich famillies.


So what amendments can be made to the system to even out the playing field so that fathers can't impart wisdom, genes, work-ethic, assets, opportunities, values and love to their sons? "Glorious revolution" is not going to stop the son of a welder from becoming a welder himself. There is definitely needed state intervention needed to prevent a beggar imparting beggar habits upon his offspring. There is a line though, the state cannot remove the child arbitrarily from his father but allow the child an education and exposure to the values of the society he is part of. The idea that attacking the elite class with the idea it will solve the child's situation is a connection i'm not able to make.


The point isn't to stop a welder's son from becoming a welder. The point is to make it so that it's possible for the welder's son to do something else, should he choose, as opposed to society forcing him to do that because it isn't economically feasible for him to do anything else.

In a general term, the left wants social mobility to be possible, whereas the right claims that this is their aim but actively works to make it harder.

Unfortunately, the 1st world country where conservatives probably have the strongest hold (the U.S.) is also the 1st world country with some of the worst social mobility statistics out there. Tangible evidence actively contradicts the idea that conservatives are working for the "work hard and you will get rewarded" ideology. Conservative ideology in this country merely oppresses the masses so that the very few can have a chance to get obscenely rich.

Let's say that again; this isn't just an ideological split where each side thinks that their ideology helps the poor out more; statistical evidence shows that more socialized countries than the U.S. give their citizens 1) a better quality of life and 2) more social mobility/chance to actually work hard to earn more.

The above ought to already be self-evident given what the likes of Wolfstan and Danglars have said; by repeatedly pointing at opportunity as though it is already available in abundance is to effectively blame the unsuccessful for their misfortune.


I would much rather have the unsuccessful blame themselves for their misfortune, get back up and try harder.
I do not want the unsuccessful to blame the successful, luck, or society for misfortune.
I do not think the successful should blame themselves for the misfortunes of the unsuccessful.

Keeping in mind that your advice directed at the misfortunate goes against pretty much everything we know about how rehabilitation works, why exactly is it that you speak of these things as though the blame game is even an important aspect of the discussion at all? We're describing people living day to day without the promise of a meal or a place to sleep, children who walk daily to a school that effectively tells them that the society living around them doesn't care, and or the family beset by a single invalid who had the misfortune of being the chief bread winner prior to the accident; your desires insofar as the failure blame game go are entirely insignificant and insulting towards those who have faced real issue in their life only to find that a helping hand provided a way out that their tireless hard work, self sacrifice, and humility in the face of a menial occupation/existence simply could not. You may not know any of these people, but I and many others do, and no amount of flat faced denial propped up by a disbelief in the notion that bad things happen to good people is going to make their stories any less true.

Believe it or not, Europe exists, and the real, living, breathing world is full to the brim with examples of how collectivization and an acknowledgement of the fact that society, luck, and greed all have meaningful and important effects on how human civilization has and will operate can work in harmony with one another in a way that individualism and the governmental mentality of a stern father simply cannot.
"when the Dead Kennedys found out they had skinhead fans, they literally wrote a song titled 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off'"
GreenHorizons
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States23602 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 00:41:04
February 28 2014 00:38 GMT
#18149
On February 28 2014 08:29 Wolfstan wrote:
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21597925-want-make-america-less-unequal-here-are-some-suggestions-memo-obama

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2014/02/27-tackling-social-mobility-black-men-reeves

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/lineage-lottery-the-myth-of-social-mobility-9152960.html

Some articles I just read on social mobility.
Neither the right nor left oppose it, however the the causes and solutions are much debated.
Since western civilization doesn't have defined classes there seems to be consensus that wealth quintiles are the rungs on the ladder. Is 20% chance to land on any rung or having there be no wealth difference at all the desired outcome for the left?



Can we all agree that the current wealth distribution is not what most Americans want?

And that the wealth could be distributed in significantly more effective and efficient ways that would result in a mutual benefit for all those involved?



We can still bicker about how we can influence this distribution without causing the most unintentional and devastating consequences.

But can we at least agree that the current distribution is (or will be) a problem for everyone?
"People like to look at history and think 'If that was me back then, I would have...' We're living through history, and the truth is, whatever you are doing now is probably what you would have done then" "Scratch a Liberal..."
Wolfstan
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada605 Posts
February 28 2014 00:57 GMT
#18150
On February 28 2014 09:25 farvacola wrote:

Keeping in mind that your advice directed at the misfortunate goes against pretty much everything we know about how rehabilitation works, why exactly is it that you speak of these things as though the blame game is even an important aspect of the discussion at all? We're describing people living day to day without the promise of a meal or a place to sleep, children who walk daily to a school that effectively tells them that the society living around them doesn't care, and or the family beset by a single invalid who had the misfortune of being the chief bread winner prior to the accident; your desires insofar as the failure blame game go are entirely insignificant and insulting towards those who have faced real issue in their life only to find that a helping hand provided a way out that their tireless hard work, self sacrifice, and humility in the face of a menial occupation/existence simply could not. You may not know any of these people, but I and many others do, and no amount of flat faced denial propped up by a disbelief in the notion that bad things happen to good people is going to make their stories any less true.

Believe it or not, Europe exists, and the real, living, breathing world is full to the brim with examples of how collectivization and an acknowledgement of the fact that society, luck, and greed all have meaningful and important effects on how human civilization has and will operate can work in harmony with one another in a way that individualism and the governmental mentality of a stern father simply cannot.


I do know people who have misfortune thrust upon them and they still have my contempt because they have serious individual flaws that need to be addressed before they are able to retain any semblance of success in life. A lifetime of poor decisions and irresponsibility put them where they are now. I focus my compassion and helping hand on an individual level rather than piss time time and money away on government policy and macroeconomic solutions for people who refuse to help themselves. I will get my to friends and family to succeed not some dude 3000 miles away.
EG - ROOT - Gambit Gaming
oneofthem
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
February 28 2014 00:59 GMT
#18151
you are talking about the difference between the homeless bum and a middleclass guy. that's not what this is about lol.
We have fed the heart on fantasies, the heart's grown brutal from the fare, more substance in our enmities than in our love
Jormundr
Profile Joined July 2011
United States1678 Posts
February 28 2014 01:14 GMT
#18152
On February 28 2014 09:57 Wolfstan wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 09:25 farvacola wrote:

Keeping in mind that your advice directed at the misfortunate goes against pretty much everything we know about how rehabilitation works, why exactly is it that you speak of these things as though the blame game is even an important aspect of the discussion at all? We're describing people living day to day without the promise of a meal or a place to sleep, children who walk daily to a school that effectively tells them that the society living around them doesn't care, and or the family beset by a single invalid who had the misfortune of being the chief bread winner prior to the accident; your desires insofar as the failure blame game go are entirely insignificant and insulting towards those who have faced real issue in their life only to find that a helping hand provided a way out that their tireless hard work, self sacrifice, and humility in the face of a menial occupation/existence simply could not. You may not know any of these people, but I and many others do, and no amount of flat faced denial propped up by a disbelief in the notion that bad things happen to good people is going to make their stories any less true.

Believe it or not, Europe exists, and the real, living, breathing world is full to the brim with examples of how collectivization and an acknowledgement of the fact that society, luck, and greed all have meaningful and important effects on how human civilization has and will operate can work in harmony with one another in a way that individualism and the governmental mentality of a stern father simply cannot.


I do know people who have misfortune thrust upon them and they still have my contempt because they have serious individual flaws that need to be addressed before they are able to retain any semblance of success in life. A lifetime of poor decisions and irresponsibility put them where they are now. I focus my compassion and helping hand on an individual level rather than piss time time and money away on government policy and macroeconomic solutions for people who refuse to help themselves. I will get my to friends and family to succeed not some dude 3000 miles away.

You seem to know a lot about some group of people who you claim you don't spend any time on...
You have also built a very large man out of straw. Could you be more specific or are you insinuating that people who aren't rich are subhuman fucks who can't do anything right?
Capitalism is beneficial for people who work harder than other people. Under capitalism the only way to make more money is to work harder then your competitors whether they be other companies or workers. ~ Vegetarian
IgnE
Profile Joined November 2010
United States7681 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 01:27:25
February 28 2014 01:21 GMT
#18153
On February 28 2014 09:57 Wolfstan wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 09:25 farvacola wrote:

Keeping in mind that your advice directed at the misfortunate goes against pretty much everything we know about how rehabilitation works, why exactly is it that you speak of these things as though the blame game is even an important aspect of the discussion at all? We're describing people living day to day without the promise of a meal or a place to sleep, children who walk daily to a school that effectively tells them that the society living around them doesn't care, and or the family beset by a single invalid who had the misfortune of being the chief bread winner prior to the accident; your desires insofar as the failure blame game go are entirely insignificant and insulting towards those who have faced real issue in their life only to find that a helping hand provided a way out that their tireless hard work, self sacrifice, and humility in the face of a menial occupation/existence simply could not. You may not know any of these people, but I and many others do, and no amount of flat faced denial propped up by a disbelief in the notion that bad things happen to good people is going to make their stories any less true.

Believe it or not, Europe exists, and the real, living, breathing world is full to the brim with examples of how collectivization and an acknowledgement of the fact that society, luck, and greed all have meaningful and important effects on how human civilization has and will operate can work in harmony with one another in a way that individualism and the governmental mentality of a stern father simply cannot.


I do know people who have misfortune thrust upon them and they still have my contempt because they have serious individual flaws that need to be addressed before they are able to retain any semblance of success in life. A lifetime of poor decisions and irresponsibility put them where they are now. I focus my compassion and helping hand on an individual level rather than piss time time and money away on government policy and macroeconomic solutions for people who refuse to help themselves. I will get my to friends and family to succeed not some dude 3000 miles away.


I think that this kind of mentality, at its core, is fundamentally a belief in both a blank slate (i.e. being born without any inherent [dis]advantages or proclivities, meaning that you are equally likely to pursue any path), and a belief in radical free will. Only people who believe that people's choices are made in a vaccuum can hold onto beliefs about the moral culpability of the unsuccessful. This is fundamentally at odds with the reality of mind. People would be wise to adopt a situationist perspective, where they appreciate that the choices are always constrained, both by the past and present situation.

This radical individualism, conceiving of man as an island, apart from the maelstrom of deterministic processes, requires a kind of schizophrenia. Everything is connected, but the radical individualist demands complete control over his own state of being, and holds others accountable for theirs.

You should really contemplate the birth lottery some time. You could have been born to a rural Muslim family in Pakistan. The chances are overwhelmingly likely that you would be uneducated, except perhaps in the Koran. You would almost definitely be poor for life. You would probably be envious of Americans, while simultaneously thinking that they are ungodly. And most importantly of all, you would not be able to do anything about it.
The unrealistic sound of these propositions is indicative, not of their utopian character, but of the strength of the forces which prevent their realization.
Wolfstan
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada605 Posts
February 28 2014 02:00 GMT
#18154
Alright let me derail the thread with my "Indian on the couch" childhood friend whose face I put to the bottom 20%...

+ Show Spoiler +
I recently (Feb 20th) bought my friend a $630 plane ticket for my down on his luck friend to move in with me and get his life back together. He called me up asking for a helping hand up and I obliged telling him if he followed my advice he would have a middle class life for his family by Labour Day. He has 2 kids preschool and toddler with a bottom 20% woman back in Newfoundland. He has been fired from Mcdonald's and was working overnights at a bakery for a non-living wage. He has never paid rent on time and still has Feb 1 overdue.

First step was to leave his family and come to Calgary at my expense and a promise to follow my advice and pay his debts. He arrives in Calgary to an already hired 70-100k/yr blue collar Job. He then spent 3 of 4 days off blackout drunk despite my disapproval. When it came time to write down our goals he had no idea of what kind of man he wanted to be and had a depressed, noncommittal attitude about the goals we were setting for him.
Me: "I want you to read one book within 3 months"
Him staring vacantly at the computer: "You're a book"

He is off on site right now and we are going to review his goals every 2 weeks. We are going to have him set up for Labour Day with his girlfriend and kids but the character he and his woman will impart upon their children leaves me little hope that they will succeed. I see no way our government or society will help him better than what I'm doing as an individual. His lot in life is own, his choices are his own, it's not mine, my bosses, my company or my industry that will determine where he ends up.

I am very patriotic and grateful that we live in a society where people can move up and down form social classes. So his story is the face I put to the misfortunes of others and at the same time the opportunities that the system that is set up allows him to make a better life for himself and his kids.

End rant/ramble
EG - ROOT - Gambit Gaming
Wolfstan
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada605 Posts
February 28 2014 02:08 GMT
#18155
This radical individualism, conceiving of man as an island, apart from the maelstrom of deterministic processes, requires a kind of schizophrenia. Everything is connected, but the radical individualist demands complete control over his own state of being, and holds others accountable for theirs.

It's very rational to me that it's easier to change the island than the maelstrom.

You should really contemplate the birth lottery some time. You could have been born to a rural Muslim family in Pakistan. The chances are overwhelmingly likely that you would be uneducated, except perhaps in the Koran. You would almost definitely be poor for life. You would probably be envious of Americans, while simultaneously thinking that they are ungodly. And most importantly of all, you would not be able to do anything about it.


I would rather just be me, and change things in my circle of influence. It seems to me to be a waste of energy trying to extend my circle of influence to a rural Muslim family, or an inner city black man. I am not particularly affected by the problems nor am I able to evaluate the outcome of rehabilitation attempts.
EG - ROOT - Gambit Gaming
mcc
Profile Joined October 2010
Czech Republic4646 Posts
February 28 2014 02:10 GMT
#18156
On February 28 2014 08:29 Wolfstan wrote:
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21597925-want-make-america-less-unequal-here-are-some-suggestions-memo-obama

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2014/02/27-tackling-social-mobility-black-men-reeves

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/lineage-lottery-the-myth-of-social-mobility-9152960.html

Some articles I just read on social mobility.
Neither the right nor left oppose it, however the the causes and solutions are much debated.
Since western civilization doesn't have defined classes there seems to be consensus that wealth quintiles are the rungs on the ladder. Is 20% chance to land on any rung or having there be no wealth difference at all the desired outcome for the left?

Shouldn't the actual ideal target be that your position in life is based on merit no matter where you come from. As far as I can tell this is the position of the reasonable left. And considering that most of US left wants to achieve was already implemented elsewhere and that those countries have higher social mobility than US would give a hint to what works and what does not.
KwarK
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States43524 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 02:13:26
February 28 2014 02:11 GMT
#18157
On February 28 2014 11:00 Wolfstan wrote:
I am very patriotic and grateful that we live in a society where people can move up and down form social classes.

Social mobility is awful in the US, why on earth would you be patriotic about people moving between classes in the US of all places. This is just plain delusion. The facts simply do not agree with your beliefs, the US is hugely outperformed by the interventionist states in Northern Europe when it comes to social mobility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mobility#Country_comparison

The US is only ahead of the UK as a shitty place to be born poor in the developed world, and only just. Your feelings of patriotism are not rooted in the success of the US, for it has no success, it's failing horribly, but rather your own delusional beliefs in the American mythos and ignorance about how badly the US compares to the rest of the developed world.
ModeratorThe angels have the phone box
Nyxisto
Profile Joined August 2010
Germany6287 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-28 02:17:58
February 28 2014 02:15 GMT
#18158
On February 28 2014 10:21 IgnE wrote:
I think that this kind of mentality, at its core, is fundamentally a belief in both a blank slate (i.e. being born without any inherent [dis]advantages or proclivities, meaning that you are equally likely to pursue any path), and a belief in radical free will.

This. This whole "you're to blame because your life sucks" mentality stems from a stone age worldview that I just can't comprehend. We're physical beings and we get influenced by our environment. We are not unicorns that can magically do what they want no matter what kind of situation we grow up in.

The whole 'American dream' idea is pretty great, but ironically the US' social mobility is on a level with Peru and Chile. The Scandinavian countries are doing best followed by Canada and Australia. There's a very close correlation between income inequality and social mobility.

Less redistribution and less government involvement does not help the poor people move up and does not increase social mobility. There is not a single piece of empirical evidence that this would be the case.
mcc
Profile Joined October 2010
Czech Republic4646 Posts
February 28 2014 02:19 GMT
#18159
On February 28 2014 11:11 KwarK wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 11:00 Wolfstan wrote:
I am very patriotic and grateful that we live in a society where people can move up and down form social classes.

Social mobility is awful in the US, why on earth would you be patriotic about people moving between classes in the US of all places. This is just plain delusion. The facts simply do not agree with your beliefs, the US is hugely outperformed by the interventionist states in Northern Europe when it comes to social mobility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mobility#Country_comparison

The US is only ahead of the UK as a shitty place to be born poor in the developed world, and only just. Your feelings of patriotism are not rooted in the success of the US, for it has no success, it's failing horribly, but rather your own delusional beliefs in the American mythos and ignorance about how badly the US compares to the rest of the developed world.

Isn't he Canadian ?
Sub40APM
Profile Joined August 2010
6336 Posts
February 28 2014 02:44 GMT
#18160
On February 28 2014 11:19 mcc wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 28 2014 11:11 KwarK wrote:
On February 28 2014 11:00 Wolfstan wrote:
I am very patriotic and grateful that we live in a society where people can move up and down form social classes.

Social mobility is awful in the US, why on earth would you be patriotic about people moving between classes in the US of all places. This is just plain delusion. The facts simply do not agree with your beliefs, the US is hugely outperformed by the interventionist states in Northern Europe when it comes to social mobility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mobility#Country_comparison

The US is only ahead of the UK as a shitty place to be born poor in the developed world, and only just. Your feelings of patriotism are not rooted in the success of the US, for it has no success, it's failing horribly, but rather your own delusional beliefs in the American mythos and ignorance about how badly the US compares to the rest of the developed world.

Isn't he Canadian ?

I think he is in imagination land when he says things like
He arrives in Calgary to an already hired 70-100k/yr blue collar Job.
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