Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Elitists

A Psychoanalyst* Attempting to Understand Our World:
Let us assume that approximately 20% of the most gifted High School graduates are accepted into an elite school; that means 80% are not going to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, etc. Many of them are going into the US Military; many go into business; many go to State Schools and second tier colleges. The upshot is that there are far more people who are the intellectual equals to those who matriculate at the elite schools than there are, in fact, in those schools. Further, as noted by [Charles] Murray**, the limited experiences of the elites who are voluntarily estranged from the average American (how does one maintain one's status as a member in good standing in the elites if one goes to a NASCAR race or enjoys hunting or fishing?) means that they lack what is known among the non-illuminati as common sense. If you haven't ever run a business it is not only supremely arrogant, but also fails the test of common sense, to imagine you can tell businessmen how to run their businesses; such humility is more easily learned outside of the Ivy Leagues.

Arrogance is never a becoming attitude; when those who are arrogant base it on successfully passing through a filter which has minimal relevance for the real world, retribution by the hoi polloi who resent their betters can only be a matter of time. The original Tea Partiers of 1773 were not deterred by the knowledge that the Mother Country was the repository of elegance, charm, and manners that the rubes of the New World could never share. In a world in which the ability to actually succeed at creating value is only partially related to the ability to amass the entrance requirements for Harvard, the loss of that necessary differentiation by our elites has caused them to sacrifice their authority and relevance. We do not need Harvard Social Scientists to tell us how to live our lives; most of us know better what is good for us.
Below, a social scientist from Yale who also went to Harvard:



*Good god! A psychoanalyst is somewhat almost sometimes a social scientist!
**Good god! Another Ivy League BA in History! Also an MIT grad!

10 comments:

Kathleen said...

who are voluntarily estranged from the average American (how does one maintain one's status as a member in good standing in the elites if one goes to a NASCAR race or enjoys hunting or fishing?)

om my god. I have no words.

Kathleen said...

I'm replacing "Harvard Social Scientist" with "Leprechaun". It makes more sense.

Substance McGravitas said...

Pretty sure you can fish and remain in good standing in the elite as long as you don't rely on the dynamite too much.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Well see here, Mr. McGravitas, nobody knows humility like the billionaires who own the GOP.

Now no more of your lip!
~

mikey said...

This poor little fellow seems overly concerned with fitting everyone into neat little categories with clearly printed glossy black helvetica on gloss white labels over each one. And no, there can be no overlap. He was out with a nasty skin rash when they taught Venn Diagrams.

Each category has a set of identifying characteristics, and any deviation from any of these specific characteristics results in an entirely new category, or at least, as they seem to be ranked, disqualification for THIS and therefore to be categorized as THAT.

He's also a very good driver. Except he keeps stopping to wash his hands.

And going back to make sure the stove's turned off...

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Let us assume that 20% of the time I am not gifting Shrinkwrapped's mother with that sweet sweet Wangchuck love. That means 80% of the time, she is free to do whomever else she pleases - and believe me, she does. She does many in the military and also many as part of her business. She even does guys in State Schools and second tier colleges.

The upshot is that although she experiences the height of escasty whilst in my company, she is also a loose whore who sleeps around a lot.

ckc (not kc) said...

...when you talk fancy, you shouldn't say "the hoi polloi"

Substance McGravitas said...

how does one maintain one's status as a member in good standing in the elites

One says "one" a lot.

Smut Clyde said...

This is why you need a "Ten pounds of resentment in a five-pound bag" category label.

Hamish Mack said...

We do not need Harvard Social Scientists to tell us how to live our lives; most of us know better what is good for us.
Sheer empirical observation down at the mall will show you this.