On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:32:51 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:
>Jim Ley writes:
>
>> Also the simple fact that it's not true, there's as much social
>> mobility and indeed more in some countries of Europe than in the US,
>> you're much more likely to move income classes in Europe, for all the
>> talk about the more freedom to make it big in the USA, the reality
>> doesn't bear this out, it's just perception.
>
>I've never seen any evidence at all of this, and much contradictory
>evidence.
So please cite some, as I cited some paper showing the research,
perhaps you should read it, and the resources it cites, and indeed
there's many other resources you can read, if you just look for them,
when you find some which show social mobility in Europe (which is of
course a silly grouping to use to discuss social mobility being made
up of disparate countries) is significantly lower than the US, be sure
to come along and tell us about it - with proper citations of course.
>One of the most striking things about Europe is that most Europeans are
>born, live their lives, and die within a single social stratum--there is
>almost no movement between strata.
Most is perhaps true, but then most USAians do exactly the same, so I
really do not understand the point, obviously most people remain in
their same "class" People aren't continously moving up and down
classes (whether social or economic) in some fluid soup. A percentage
move - in many countries in more, in many it's less, the US actually
has an easier time of getting its people to move economic classes
since immigrants are often in the lowest social class in the US, when
in their original country they were a higher class (therefore better
educated etc. the normal things that lead to success) So their
children are likely to be successful.
Jim. |