A surprising look at how ancestry still determines social outcomes
How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and
grandparents? How much does it influence our children? More than we wish
to believe. While it has been argued that rigid class structures have
eroded in favor of greater social equality, The Son Also Rises proves
that movement on the social ladder has changed little over eight
centuries. Using a novel technique--tracking family names over
generations to measure social mobility across countries and
periods--renowned economic historian Gregory Clark reveals that mobility
rates are lower than conventionally estimated, do not vary across
societies, and are resistant to social policies.
Clark examines and compares surnames in such diverse cases as modern
Sweden and Qing Dynasty China. He demonstrates how fate is determined by
ancestry and that almost all societies have similarly low social
mobility rates. Challenging popular assumptions about mobility and
revealing the deeply entrenched force of inherited advantage, The Son
Also Rises is sure to prompt intense debate for years to come.