Site Presented By
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
loved the piece but this is a truism that all the little people know of and live. But in their minds they just aren't empowered to fix it. How do you "outcompete" the son/daughter/spouse of someone who has all the power to rig the system. I just saw a huge survey (sample 30,000)of high school students nationwide--60% have cheated on exams and papers multiple times in the last year, 2/3 have stolen, . . . an ironically they described their personal "morals" as "very high"). The young get it. If you want to get ahead in America you have to cheat because the system is rigged. The rules are designed to benefit the rich and powerful. Every law that used to protect consumers, renters, debtors, union members . . . has been gutted over the last 35 years.
I've worked for executive branch agencies for 15 years and believe me what GG writes about is the norm in promotions. All the civil service protocols are a sham. The chosen get all the choice "details" so they build up all the experience to advance regardless of how qualified they were to begin with. Advancement has very little to do with qualification or skill but who you know so that you get the first and only crack at the limited skill building opportunities. Everybody else fills the roles that actually produce something and make the machine work. We used to laugh about how ironic it was that the higher up in civil service you go the less responsibility and accountability you have. Sitting in your big office, knocking off for golf with your pals, cutting a few ribbons, saying a few words, taking a few calls, never actually making a decision of any importance, hatching a few programs of little to no added value. All the real work is done by the "little people". And I can guarantee you no superior wants to lose a productive subordinate who is good at his/her job and will do almost anything to make sure you don't advance ahead of them.
I'm pretty sure the French were the only ones to every catch on and take appropriate action. I'd say the rich should be very wary because it is an unsustainable power relationship. Then again they have a secret weapon in the steady stream of Dancing With the Stars calibre programming being pumped into homes 24/7/365. That shiny shiny mind control is a real bitch to overcome.
Gosh, this would make a great subject for a dissertation or another book. Hint hint.
I had to laugh a little, because nepotism and hereditary "right of kings" is certainly not confined to pollyticks, media or hollyweird. I have found it in many industries with similar results and varying levels of competence. It was widely known that the aristocracy here in America arranged for marriages and inheritence in a strict social circle. That accounts for some of the idiots who have run our government and economy into the ground.
Nonetheless, we have only ourselves to blame - for voting them in, giving them power, patronizing their establishments.
Every biologist knows that the bigger the gene pool, the stronger the organism. We have now been victimized by this biological reality. We still have the power to change who we elect and who we support. Hello??!
I can vouch for the fact that most industries in which I have worked are just as incestuous as Warshington.
And once congress abolishes the 'death tax' and all that inherited wealth is passed down, maybe the Lords will allow we serfs to have a small plot of land on which to grow our food. Giving the Lords their 90% share of course........
Jeez, way to derail the conversation dude. (Anger management)
But I would cheer the appointment of RFK Jr. (or perhaps any K)to a higher office. He's a real lefty who isn't afraid to speak the truth about things The Powers wish to keep under their control.
A single article in Time Magazine from 1929 isn't persuasive enough to draw the conclusion that the problem of nepotism is worse today than it was in the past. A telling quote from that very article suggests quite the opposite: "[m]any another son has followed his father into high office."
Somebody's going to have to do or find the research comparing the degree of nepotism in today's political class compared to that of yesteryear's. Only then will we know in which direction we've moved or if we've moved at all.
As for "what accounts for this anti-democratic dynamic," I'd posit human nature. In the Roman Republic, it was quite rare for a novus homo ("new man", i.e. one w/out a family history in politics) to get very far. Things have certainly improved since then, but I'm not convinced that they've worsened since the birth of our own republic.
Of course, there are other reasons that political families do well, including some positive ones. The Kennedys and Clintons are a good example--when smart people marry other smart people and then raise a family of other smart people--with a bit of initiative all of those smart people may pursue politics in order to accomplish their goals. That can be a good thing for the country.
For God's sake. Accomplish their goals. Who cares about the goals of the nepotistic elite other than the nepotists? And how is that "a good thing for the country"? I find it remarkable how so many people reflexively use language like "accomplish their goals," as if the interests of the unwashed masses are, at best, secondary.
"a small plot of land" -Retzilion
That small plot the Lords have deemed our just reward for making them feel more entitled to the lion's share is dwindling by the moment (see recent trillions given to the "Lords" for their great attributes of efficiency and magnaminity).
I'm choking back my tears for pity of the lion's empty stomach, whose feline, ravenous ways are bereft of justice.
I was just reminded of such titles as 'The King of Pop', 'The King of Rock' and other such designations that arise in our pop-culture. Many people in the thread have pointed out that politics is not the only sphere in which a fascination with royalty exists and here is another example. Glenn has gotten the ball rolling but this subject goes very deep, so deep that an ontological assessment is required. The nature of man and his artifices of power are on display here.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
