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I'm perplexed thinking why you were downvoted. Do your downvoters think that our genetics determine most of the outcomes? Also, b4 anyone claims it, wealth doe

I'm perplexed thinking why you were downvoted. Do your downvoters think that our genetics determine most of the outcomes? Also, b4 anyone claims it, wealth does play a role, but looking at how lottery winners fare, I would stick with culture and values having a more fundamental, causal impact.

malandrew 7y ago
My guess is that the existence of groups that have an excellent track record or producing highly successful individuals creates bursts the privilege narrative and causes cognitive dissonance and downvoting. Jews were slaughtered by the millions in Europe and had most of their possessions and capital stolen from them and yet after their ordeal was over, they recovered and many built all that they had lost again from the ground up, many of them many times over. Plus, look at the number of noble prize winners, 20% of whom have been Jewish. The Chinese came over to the West coast in the US and were the very definition of a marginalized community, yet they've done remarkably well. Those that have time to apply the strong values around work and building up intergenerational wealth in a country that respects property rights have absolutely flourished. These days, many of those that aren't well off are typically those that are recent immigrants that fled a countries where they did not have the opportunity to build wealth so they are starting again from the bottom. Mormons were persecuted and moved westward trying to find a place where they'd be left alone and they've done remarkably well for themselves in and around Utah. It goes beyond those groups. The Quakers in New England did well. Many of the Italian and Irish immigrants that came to the US and settled in the Northeast United States have done quite well for themselves despite being second class citizens in the US upon their arrival. One of the best examples showing that culture and values matter is that black immigrants out-earn US-born blacks. Culture and values matter. It's what leads parents to have books in the house, what leads them to get their kids reading books, what leads them to be involved in their children's schooling, what leads them to join the PTA, what leads them to teach their kids about money and savings, what leads them to maintain a nuclear family instead of splitting up into single-parent households, what leads them to teach pro-social pro-cooperation values like not coveting what others have, forgiveness and hard work, and lastly what leads them to eventually have families of their own and pass along all the culture and values to their kids that their parents taught them. Rome was not built in a day. Yes, wealth plays a role, but something lead to that wealth creation in the first place and lead to that wealth persisting across generations instead of it all being gone by the third generation that inherited it. Plus, most of the wealth held by individuals in the groups above weren't earned all by one massively successful individual. Most of it was build upon incrementally by each generation that passed along not only wealth, but the culture and values that built that wealth and that will allow that wealth to be built into an even larger pot for the next generation.

malandrew 7y ago

My guess is that the existence of groups that have an excellent track record or producing highly successful individuals creates bursts the privilege narrative and causes cognitive dissonance and downvoting. Jews were slaughtered by the millions in Europe and had most of their possessions and capital stolen from them and yet after their ordeal was over, they recovered and many built all that they had lost again from the ground up, many of them many times over. Plus, look at the number of noble prize winners, 20% of whom have been Jewish. The Chinese came over to the West coast in the US and were the very definition of a marginalized community, yet they've done remarkably well. Those that have time to apply the strong values around work and building up intergenerational wealth in a country that respects property rights have absolutely flourished. These days, many of those that aren't well off are typically those that are recent immigrants that fled a countries where they did not have the opportunity to build wealth so they are starting again from the bottom. Mormons were persecuted and moved westward trying to find a place where they'd be left alone and they've done remarkably well for themselves in and around Utah. It goes beyond those groups. The Quakers in New England did well. Many of the Italian and Irish immigrants that came to the US and settled in the Northeast United States have done quite well for themselves despite being second class citizens in the US upon their arrival. One of the best examples showing that culture and values matter is that black immigrants out-earn US-born blacks. Culture and values matter. It's what leads parents to have books in the house, what leads them to get their kids reading books, what leads them to be involved in their children's schooling, what leads them to join the PTA, what leads them to teach their kids about money and savings, what leads them to maintain a nuclear family instead of splitting up into single-parent households, what leads them to teach pro-social pro-cooperation values like not coveting what others have, forgiveness and hard work, and lastly what leads them to eventually have families of their own and pass along all the culture and values to their kids that their parents taught them. Rome was not built in a day. Yes, wealth plays a role, but something lead to that wealth creation in the first place and lead to that wealth persisting across generations instead of it all being gone by the third generation that inherited it. Plus, most of the wealth held by individuals in the groups above weren't earned all by one massively successful individual. Most of it was build upon incrementally by each generation that passed along not only wealth, but the culture and values that built that wealth and that will allow that wealth to be built into an even larger pot for the next generation.