Upper Class Affirmative Action


Miller omits the trust fund babies. Bernie O discusses one case, whether or not it is BDS. Some people born into wealth get the opportunities to be greedy at levels to which others are not admitted. It is a form of familial affirmative action. Real affirmative action depends on the person being helped subscribing to the policies and programs of the upper class providers. What role does self interest play in all of these programs, plans and economic classes?

[Quotes from article.]
"And what if to fix our economy right now we actually have to get over the idea that people end up where they deserve to?"

"Adam Smith argued that the spending of the wealthy was actually an engine of economic activity and employment. Next came the narrative that economic status did have moral connotations. Napoleon, this idea’s exemplar, loathed his era’s “imbeciles and hereditary asses.” And in Britain and the United States, these new impulses combined with Charles Darwin’s theories to yield the ugly (but for rich people, quite gratifying) philosophy of economic survival of the fittest."

"pervasive and institutionally administered belief in meritocracy, via the rise of intelligence testing, the SAT, and the all-consuming college admissions craze. Over time, it became an article of faith that those with “merit” in these narrow terms would deservedly enjoy the best of society’s material rewards."

"The best-performing gerbils on the treadmill are learning that working hard, acing every test, attending top colleges, and succeeding in their chosen profession is no longer the path to the topmost ranks of wealth and influence."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-22/you-dont-deserve-to-be-rich/

You Don't Deserve to Be Rich
The Daily Beast
by Matt Miller

[Comments on The Daily Beast under this story.]

By Rob Taylor
“the real reason Western Civilization is on the decline and con artist were bale to take investors for all they had. We live in a culture of where actual knowledge is ignored and populist drivel is considered brilliant.”

By BernieO
Claiming our country is a meritocracy is a smokescreen created by conservatives to decry things like affirmative action which help the unwashed masses get a shot at success. The same conservatives have no problem with affirmative action for the rich.

[. . .]

Bush - and his family - are some of the more visible examples of the way our system really works. People with little or no talent frequently rise to the top due to their powerful, wealthy connections. Once there, they work hard to make sure truly talented, unconnected people are kept out of the inner circle.