Larissa
Christoph MergersonA more interesting #nepobaby discussion would be whether those who benefit from family influence still think they live in a meritocracy—and how they define meritocracy. Is it a meritocracy if you have a powerful built-in advantage over others?
Doctor LURK@mergerson interesting questions indeed, though I have an (admittedly biased) suspicion that the answers would turn out to be rather depressing.
@doctorLURK I just want people to be real that we don't live in a meritocracy, but rather a society where factors other than hard work (such as race, class, et cetera) are more determinative of life outcomes.
@mergerson agreed one hundred percent!
Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco@mergerson I’m confident that most people who have built in advantages think they don’t. It would take a level of humility to admit that one’s success comes from built in resources and not God given talent. Even Musk and Trump, one whose father owned an emerald mine and the other whose father gave him a million dollars “just to start off,” think they are where they are because of their a natural genius. And no amount of public ridicule can disabuse them of that notion.
MARGARET D@mergerson a phenomenon also on an institutional level: So-called ‘affirmative action’ designed to expand access and repair harm to members of groups that have been excluded is unfair/anti-meritocratic, but ‘legacy admissions’ designed to ensure access to privileged offspring of privileged families? No problem.