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This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing! I wonder if this has implications about the sense of agency people from different backgrounds feel (or not) in their l

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing! I wonder if this has implications about the sense of agency people from different backgrounds feel (or not) in their lives.

jdksmdbtbdnmsm 3y ago
In a capitalist society, class is the predominant relationship one has with their society. I know this is pretty obvious and may not entirely answer your question, but many people find it very difficult to swallow this reality these days and I think it's worth reminding.
Frost1x 3y ago
To some degree, socioeconomic status likely dictates agency (the higher you are, the more agency you have in general). So, I imagine if the perceived agency is aligned with actual agency, you’d see the same. Now, in some respect everyone has the same amount of agency. No matter how rich or how poor one may be, they can tell the world to buzz off and do whatever they want to do, so in that sense they have the same agency. In reality, most people have an impulse to survive and meet those needs, like having food and so on, and people are cognizant of this fact. So unless you have the ability to provide all your needs, agency is mostly an illusion. Sure, you can do whatever you want but it’s a lot easier if you have a pile of money to cover your whims. If you don’t, well you might starve to death or die from some easily curable disease.
santoshalper 3y ago
Quite the opposite, people who have grown up in rewarding environments tend to be more "ambitious" (my word, not theirs) because they have been conditioned to believe that ambition is rewarded. On the other hand, people who have grown up in poverty have been conditioned to believe that excellence doesn't really matter since there are few or no rewards to be had. Keep in mind, this is well below the level of conscious thought - it's a biological response. Once you remember that humans are animals and are conditioned by their environment the same way animals are, stimulus and response, everything about our modern civilization makes total sense.
- Viliam1234 3y ago
  This indeed. When you live in a friendly environment, whenever you do something right, you achieve some small success. When you live in an unfriendly environment, you need to get many things right at the same time, otherwise it all falls apart. So if you don't trust yourself to do everything flawlessly, there is almost no point in trying. Also, if you succeed once in the friendly environment, you get praise and more support in your efforts. If you succeed in the unfriendly environment, people assume that you either cheated or simply got lucky but it won't happen again. So even after you succeeded at some small thing, it may still feel like there is no point.

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing! I wonder if this has implications about the sense of agency people from different backgrounds feel (or not) in their lives.

jdksmdbtbdnmsm 3y ago

In a capitalist society, class is the predominant relationship one has with their society. I know this is pretty obvious and may not entirely answer your question, but many people find it very difficult to swallow this reality these days and I think it's worth reminding.

Frost1x 3y ago

To some degree, socioeconomic status likely dictates agency (the higher you are, the more agency you have in general). So, I imagine if the perceived agency is aligned with actual agency, you’d see the same. Now, in some respect everyone has the same amount of agency. No matter how rich or how poor one may be, they can tell the world to buzz off and do whatever they want to do, so in that sense they have the same agency. In reality, most people have an impulse to survive and meet those needs, like having food and so on, and people are cognizant of this fact. So unless you have the ability to provide all your needs, agency is mostly an illusion. Sure, you can do whatever you want but it’s a lot easier if you have a pile of money to cover your whims. If you don’t, well you might starve to death or die from some easily curable disease.

santoshalper 3y ago

Quite the opposite, people who have grown up in rewarding environments tend to be more "ambitious" (my word, not theirs) because they have been conditioned to believe that ambition is rewarded. On the other hand, people who have grown up in poverty have been conditioned to believe that excellence doesn't really matter since there are few or no rewards to be had. Keep in mind, this is well below the level of conscious thought - it's a biological response. Once you remember that humans are animals and are conditioned by their environment the same way animals are, stimulus and response, everything about our modern civilization makes total sense.

Viliam1234 3y ago
This indeed. When you live in a friendly environment, whenever you do something right, you achieve some small success. When you live in an unfriendly environment, you need to get many things right at the same time, otherwise it all falls apart. So if you don't trust yourself to do everything flawlessly, there is almost no point in trying. Also, if you succeed once in the friendly environment, you get praise and more support in your efforts. If you succeed in the unfriendly environment, people assume that you either cheated or simply got lucky but it won't happen again. So even after you succeeded at some small thing, it may still feel like there is no point.