Nearly half of Hindus in the U.S., one-third of Jews and a quarter of Buddhists have obtained post-graduate education, compared with only about one-in-ten of the adult population overall. Hindus and Jews are also much more likely than other groups to report high income levels.In short, if you want your kids to grow up to be wealthy, you don't need them to convert to Hinduism. You just need to ingrain them with an education ethic.
Randall Collins contributed the idea of credentialism to the study of class-based differences in educational attainment. Collins maintains that public schools are socializing institutions that teach and reward middle class values of competition and achievement. Anglo-Protestant elites are selectively separated from other students and placed into prestigious schools and colleges, where they are trained to hold positions of power. By teaching middle-class culture through the public education system, the elite class ensures a monopoly over positions of power, while others acquire the credentials to compete in a subordinate job market and economy. In this way, schools of medicine, law, and elite institutions have remained closed to members of lower classes.Thus, as I interpret this paragraph, the hypothesis says prestigious private schools teach how to lead, while the public school monopoly teaches how to serve.
Recent work by social scientists has tackled the topic, elucidating behavioral differences between low-status and high-status individuals, and the methods by which those at the bottom of the totem pole are most successful at climbing to the top. ...So, to attain a high socioeconomic status, in addition to getting an advanced degree in a high-paying field, you should be helpful to those around you.
Low-status people are much more sensitive to being socially rejected and are more inclined to monitor their environment for threats. Because of this vigilance toward protecting their sense of self-worth, low-status individuals are quicker to respond violently to personal threats and insults. ...
Those who are effective in attaining status do so through behaving generously and helpfully to bolster their value to their group. In other words, low-status individuals’ aggressive and violent behavior is precisely the opposite of what they should be doing to ascend the societal totem pole. ...
People afford greater status to individuals who donate more of their own money to a communal fund and those who sacrifice their individual interests for the public good. Demonstrating your value to a group—whether through competence or selflessness—appears to improve status. Anderson and Aiwa Shirako suggest that the amplifier for this effect is the degree to which one has social connections with others. ...
They showed that individuals who behaved cooperatively attained a more positive reputation, but only if they were socially embedded in the group. Those who behaved cooperatively, but lacked connections went unnoticed. ... Those who were selfish and well-connected saw their reputation diminish. ...
The sum of these findings can begin to explain the troubled circumstances of those lowest in status. ... Instead of ingratiating themselves to those around them – this is the successful strategy for status attainment – low-status individuals may be more prone to bullying and hostile behavior, especially when provoked.
Notice that there are two big gaps in the graph. The first is between "some college" and a bachelor's degree. The second is between a master's degree and a doctoral/professional degree.
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James Parsons
Washington, D.C. area, USA
I'm a classical liberal, because I believe a system of personal freedom and free enterprise leads to greater human well-being than other legal and economic systems.
I am the webmaster for JP's Real Estate Charts, Stoxford Stock Charts, and The Libertarian Quiz.
