Bill,
At 10:29 04/11/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Keith,
>
>I doubt if there is a declining potential future elite with India and
>China a couple of bytes away. If we only look at Europeans, you may have
>a point but even the Europeans in the US will become a minority in a
>couple of decades. We continue to survive by importing superior
>foreigners. Every time I notice the winners of school academic
>achievement, those of European decent seem to be left out.
Let me tip this on its head to illustrate my point! America has only been
surviving economically in the last twenty years or so by virtue of the
large numbers of talented individuals that it has been able to attract
(from Russia, Europe, but mainly East Asia and India). It was patently
unable to develop its new industries from its own personnel resources. (To
some extent, Europe is also attracting some talent but most of Europe's
cream [certainly from this country] is going to the US.)
At some stage, though, when incomes and opportunities in Asia have become
more equal then it's likely that talent will stay where it was born. As far
as Chinese talent is concerned, that time cannot be far off (in my opinion).
(WBW)
>Further, and more important, my guess is that those who are willing to
>sacrifice all for achievement in corporations or government tend to be
>followers who are willing to kiss 'a**' to move up.
The people with real influence are not necessarily those who happen to be
in government or business at the time their ideas were adopted . The
present Bush policy has been influenced by academics originally outside the
system such as Eliot Cohen, Wolfofitz. (I'm aware that the latter *has*, in
fact, joined the government since he developed his ideas, but this doesn't
alter my argument.) So long as they are reasonably comfortable the
meritocracy I'm talking about is much more interested in ideas than power.
>tho I am not sure that
>the meritocracy process really selects the best.
I agree that it's not always efficient and that there's plenty of nepotism
and 'old pals act' involved.
> That certainly is true
>in US government except, perhaps for a guy like Wellstone. Also, we have
>had a bunch of heads of fast growing corporations who must have skipped
>math[s] on their way up.
>
>The elite in terms of pure brainpower are in astronomy.
Yes (perhaps more precisely cosmology) -- that and physics.
Keith Hudson
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