“Ordinary talent and work ethic no longer yield extraordinary results.” That’s the real issue we’re experiencing. We saw a 600 year flood period in our parents and some of our lifetimes. Why 600 year flood? Well between 1945-1980, it was a great time to be alive if you were average in a G7-G20, especially democratic economy. Last time it was that great to be alive and that average in a similar area was the 20 years following the Black Plague, 1353-1373. Wages were great if you survived the plague. If you survived the war, bingo was his name-o. Now we have guides for the downwardly mobile and what you can do to maintain status. In fact, no one in the 1980’s or 90’s or early 2000’s ever said downwardly mobile. That’s just Un-American. Well with it going from 90% in 1940, 50% in 1980 and 10% of today’s kids doing better than their parents. What did you expect? I’m looking forward to the downwardly mobile trends and how to seize the grasps at status as one flails on the way down. The upper middle class with coupons if you will. All views my own. Or some article. Link in comments.
It’s not that ordinary talent stopped yielding results. It’s that the system stopped measuring value in human terms. For centuries, progress rewarded participation. Now, it rewards proximity to code, leverage, and data. The ladder didn’t vanish - it was virtualized. The “downwardly mobile” aren’t falling. They’re just discovering that gravity has changed vectors. When work no longer translates into continuity, societies recalibrate the meaning of merit. That’s not decline. It’s the prelude to redesign.
This downwardly mobile reality for Gen Z has been happening for years now.
Love this Mark R. keep it up, mind opening stuff!
Neoliberalism, globalization, deindustrilisation etc.
Hmm. I read the article from the bottom up and I think it is missing something.
Is that a Hieronamys Bosch painting? I knew I must have followed you for a good reason.
There are basically two routes open to humanity at this juncture: Chinese ‘engineered‘ authoritarianism or American ‘capering ape‘ authoritarianism. The first is professional, paternalistic, communitarian and progressive. The second a hot mess of inequality, grift, retribution, paranoia and economic extraction. Social media has turned democratic polity into polarized culture-wars trench warfare, and it‘s hard to see much in the way of future for democracy at this juncture. The question is whether there is a cohesive society or a bitterly divided one, whether grown-ups are in charge, or petulant manchilds — history shows that bitterly divided societies, and manchild governments, are a milestone on the road to ruin.
‘… with coupons’ 🤣🤣🤣
Fascinating perspective do you think redefining 'status' could shift the narrative for future generations?
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4dhttps://open.substack.com/pub/russellwalter/p/four-strategies-for-gaining-status?r=4ajm0&utm_medium=ios