About
Content
Store
Forum

Rebirth of Reason
War
People
Archives
Objectivism

Class in America: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide
Posted by Eve V. Stenson on 5/16, 7:02pm
The New York Times is currently running a special section entitled "Class Matters," a series of articles and statistics resulting from a more than year-long investigation.  Purportedly, "it represents an inquiry into class as Americans encounter it."  The qualitative and quantitative conclusions drawn from it – by the authors and editors, by the people they've interviewed, by readers who respond to it, etc. – seem likely to raise interesting questions and/or observations.

Two noteworthy excerpts from the first article:
  • A paradox lies at the heart of this new American meritocracy. Merit has replaced the old system of inherited privilege, in which parents to the manner born handed down the manor to their children. But merit, it turns out, is at least partly class-based. Parents with money, education and connections cultivate in their children the habits that the meritocracy rewards. When their children then succeed, their success is seen as earned.
  • "I think the system is as fair as you can make it," Ernie Frazier, a 65-year-old real estate investor in Houston, said in an interview after participating in the poll. "I don't think life is necessarily fair. But if you persevere, you can overcome adversity. It has to do with a person's willingness to work hard, and I think it's always been that way."
Discuss this News (2 messages) Sanction this itemEditFavorite