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Jörgen Hassler's avatar

Another gloomy but brilliant essay. As an ex muck raking anti establishment journalist I think you can take a large parts of it and just change the word politicians to journalists, and it would sadly still be equally true.

How ever I think you are wrong on Macron. The purpose of every pension reform the last decades has been to destroy pensions as a right and hand the rubble that is left over to finance.

It started in Sweden, where I live. After the multi party agreement on a new pension system was signed one of the politicians, a woman social democrat that obviously was old school said “god how they are going to hate us when they discover what we just did!”

So it’s not that Macron didn’t know what he was doing, or protected his ego, he’s a bankman doing what he was selected to do while in the same time building his future career.

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Mike Moschos's avatar

RE: "[Today's Western elites] generally come from higher-income families, and have had long and expensive educations at prestigious institutions, as well as benefitting from powerful family and professional networks. So they are on average better educated and prepared than their forbears fifty years ago: they have no excuses"

The quote assumes that today's Western elites are better educated and prepared than their forbears fifty years ago because they come from higher-income families, have had long and expensive educations at prestigious institutions, and benefit from powerful family and professional networks. However, this argument ignores the fact that education is not only measured by the quantity of years spent in formal schooling, but also by the quality of learning and the motivation of the learners. A counter-example that illustrates this point is Lewis Strauss, who was recently portrayed on screen by Robert Downey Jr in the Oppenheimer film, who had no degree yet he learned a great deal about nuclear physics through personal study because he took his responsibilities very seriously.

Lewis Strauss was an American businessman, philanthropist, and public official who served as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1953 to 1958. He had no formal education beyond high school, but he became interested in nuclear physics after meeting Albert Einstein in 1921. He studied the subject on his own, using books and journals, and became one of the leading experts on atomic energy in the United States. He was involved in the development of the atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the peaceful uses of nuclear power. He also played a key role in shaping the national and international policies on nuclear issues.

Strauss's example shows that today's Western elites are not necessarily better educated and prepared than their forbears fifty years ago, because they may lack the curiosity, dedication, and self-discipline that Strauss had. They may rely too much on their family background, academic credentials, and social connections, and not enough on their own intellectual abilities and interests. They may also be less willing to challenge themselves and learn new things outside of their comfort zones. Therefore, the quote is not valid, as it does not take into account the different dimensions of education and preparation that are relevant for leadership and innovation.

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