So, in the previous part of the article, we have talked about the fact that borders often change their configuration and different social groups change their size.
Fluid mobility is the absolute frequency of crossing the border. It is a zero-sum game: the number of people who have risen must coincide with the number of the descended ones. There is some increase in fluid mobility, although the main trend and the main reason why each next generation can be considered growing in its status is exactly that there is a very large structural mobility. Prestigious occupations are growing, while low-status jobs are decreasing.
Why do we see more or less fluid mobility? And what determines the chances of social reproduction?
The traditional view of things suggests that somehow the rich manage to figure out how to transfer their inheritance to their children. The simplest form is inheritance, that is, the transfer of property to children by devise. It takes place but plays a much smaller role today than before, and in absolute levels of mobility, this role is negligible. By the time children of millionaires have inherited the fortune, they usually have their own fortune. How do they get it?
Parents, the statistics says, invest in the education of their children. They contribute to the fact that the children choose a right and good profession. Having received it, and also having inherited a part of the genitive relationships and a part of the way of life, ability to look like a representative of the highest class, they successfully make their own career that is no worse than their parents' one.
Remember, a good education is the key to success. Therefore, treat your assignments responsibly. In the future, you will be able to assess the meaning of your efforts.
Traditionally, it is assumed that the social class is especially good at translating its exclusivity to children. However, some scientists have partially questioned this general logic, showing that much of mobility – maybe even more – is not so much due to the inheritance of the class position, but due to the inheritance of the profession. All professional groups, especially the prestigious ones, are highly inherited: children of doctors are likely to become doctors, and the most likely career for a doctor's child is, in fact, also a doctor.
They inherit not the position in the upper class (and doctors are, of course, if not the highest, then, at least, the upper class), but concrete employment. And this indirectly leads them to the elite. A similar situation occurs at lower levels: the level of inheritance of the parental profession (more often paternal, but now, more and more maternal) is quite high. And, maybe, we are actually dealing not with the class, but with the professional reproduction.
Genetics in the Arena
Of course, there is a competing theory that psychologists give to sociologists, who say that in reality, reproduction is not connected with a translation of social privileges but with the translation of genetic material. Here, there is a kind of big split between the two disciplines.
On the one hand, there are sociologists who, of course, say that everything is socially constructed, everything is upbringing, education is a great thing ("It can make a bear dance"). So, it does not matter what child is born, it is important which family this child grows in.
On the other side, there are psychologists, many of whom take a more cautious view, saying that there is a reason to believe that intelligence is largely inherited genetically. This means that children of the rich get a good education not simply because their parents somehow manage to put them in a good school and make sure teachers like them and help them cope with the school curriculum, but because they are just smarter.
For various reasons, this idea is not very popular among sociologists, because it assumes that inequality is partly innate and if the genes are behind everything, then sociologists have nothing to do with their sociological explanations. But if you try to look at the studies that directly tried to fix "the effects of intellect" and "the effects of education," it turns out that intellect still plays a role with a high probability, although it does not seem to be decisive in relation to social mechanisms. However, there is no consensus here, and the two disciplines hold different points of view on this issue.
So, scientists have concluded that intellect is transmitted genetically and does not develop through education, which can be shocking news for students. However, geneticists explain that heredity only affects and does not form any specific level of IQ. That is, it only corrects it by a few points. If children grew in the same conditions, then thanks to genetics, their IQ will differ, for example, by five points.
It seems that by inheriting "genes of the mind" from parents, children cannot grow genuinely talented on their own. In order to develop abilities of a gifted child, parents need to make a lot of effort. Often, the mother or father – recognized geniuses and talents – do not give their children enough time (due to their own employment). Therefore, children grow up to be completely different from gifted parents.
But geniuses are often brought up by quite ordinary people, not conspicuous by special achievements and merits. Nevertheless, such seemingly inconspicuous individuals invest a lot of strength and health in the education of their children, thanks to which the talent of the younger generation can be fully realized.
We will reiterate that your education plays a very important role in your life. A particularly positive moment is that now, there are a lot of websites that offer academic help, for example, coolessay.net. This greatly simplifies your life and allows you to save time on many other important and interesting things. Therefore, study, develop yourself and do not forget to read our blog – interesting studies and observations from different disciplines await you.
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