Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
1–10 of 32 posts
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#2Also, some people work harder than others.
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#3I find myself constantly amazed at academia's ability to pretend that ideas that have been around for centuries are suddenly new and original.
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#4Also, some people work harder than others.
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Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#5Also, some people work harder than others.
News at eleven, "Horatio Alger myth continues to appeal to fairness bias", "Middle class continue to toil under the mindset that they are temporarily embarrassed millionaires".
Raw numbers collected over decades of research disprove this handily. While working hard is a factor, there are other phenomena which will just as easily impair upwards social mobility. There's a reason they call it "poverty trap"
For an introduction, take a gander at Gladwell's books.
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#6I find myself constantly amazed at academia's ability to pretend that ideas that have been around for centuries are suddenly new and original.
Just because the idea isn't new doesn't mean it shouldn't be scrutinized for reasons. It is entirely possible that class based societies existed for other reasons then what we assume. In this case our assumption turned out to be correct.
Now, how do are you going to convince koreans that sleeping under a fan isn't going to kill them?
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#7I find myself constantly amazed at academia's ability to pretend that ideas that have been around for centuries are suddenly new and original.
The "idea" (actually this is the output of a mathematical model, but ok) that stratified societies are both more stable and have a greater tendency to spread out than non-stratified societies has been around for centuries? I guess I missed that. Care to enlighten me?
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#8Also, some people work harder than others.
News at eleven, "Horatio Alger myth continues to appeal to fairness bias", "Middle class continue to toil under the mindset that they are temporarily embarrassed millionaires". Raw numbers collected over decades of research disprove this handily. While working hard is a factor, there are other phenomena which will just as easily impair upwards social mobility. There's a reason they call it "poverty trap" For an intro…
Malcom "igon value" Gladwell is probably not the person one wants to cite on an empirical or technical matter.
http://monkeysuncle.stanford.edu/?p=541
Pinker’s term: “The Igon Value Problem” is a clever play
on the Eigenvalue Problem in mathematics. You see,
Gladwell apparently quotes someone referring to an “igon
value.” This is clearly a concept he never dealt with
himself even though it is a ubiquitous tool in the
statistics and decision science about which Gladwell is
frequently so critical. According to Pinker, the Igon
Value Problem occurs “when a writer’s education on a
topic consists in interviewing an expert,” leading him or
her to offering “generalizations that are banal, obtuse
or flat wrong.” In other words, the Igon Value Problem
is one of dilettantism.
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#9I think people in social sciences tend to ignore the most obvious factor: military power. A successful campaign needs rapid coordinated efforts, which are best delivered by hierarchical models. And if you suck at war, chances are that your civilization won't stick around for very long.
Re: Why class societies are the rule, not the exception
#10Also, some people work harder than others.
Are you actually under the ridiculously naive impression that hard work = success? I thought that had been satisfactorily disproven years ago.