Why do you think people in America (and elsewhere)
have a tendency to vote for people from established families? Does the fact that so many politicians come
from these families show that social mobility is on the decline? How does this "dynasty" trend compare to the
situation in Slovakia?
America, the land of freedom, seemingly is the land of countless opportunities and thus a land of social mobility which can guarantee you class locomotion up the hierarchical ladder. One would think that this belief is also implemented in the political career of individuals and equality of opportunity when it comes to the battle of The White House. However, the years of presidential dynasties have shown the opposite. Personally, despite the survey which is mentioned in the article, I am a strong believer in the possibility of social mobility on individual level, when certain amount of effort is put into certain task, but this dilemma of apparently irreversible situation in The White House has a different premise. Firstly, I don’t assume that famous name is a causative factor, but only a correlation. Let me explain, despite the fact that American society can define itself as society which indulges in various modern and controversial matters, the statistics show that people of the US are majorly conservative, that leads me to the conclusion that people tend to avoid unknown. In a case as serious as the election of new president, who embodies the nation and represents every single American on international scene, it is more than understandable that people chose a person whose back-round is widely discussed and popular. That means that being a member of famous family opens the doors. Therefore, I would not blame it on the diminishing social mobility, but simply of people being used to old names, old families, old dogs.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing that came across my mind after reading this article is a reference to European countries and nearly non-existing functional heredity. The question of conservatism could be brought up mainly when it comes to the UK. It wouldn’t seem logical to assume that American society is conservative and totally neglect this British famous trait. The difference which I can see is that in the UK there is no desire for power by the descendants of previous politicians. And why is it so? Maybe every country in the world needs to go through the process of dynastization and for example in the UK we have royal family. Would not be two dynasties at once too much? And when it comes to Slovakia, the answer is simple. We are a very young country with only several prime ministers and presidents in the past, therefore for now it is out of question to think of dynasties when Slovak Republic is only 12 years old.