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Arena's avatar

Perhaps the first order of business is to dispense with the overproduction of the term "elite". This is an artifact of the days when a top collegiate experience would usher an already well-connected person into well-regarded sinecures of national import and meaning (call that the Averell Harriman model).

The elite college experience has changed and, more importantly, the world of sinecures has changed. Most sinecures today are found in government positions that do not attract the "best and the brightest" and a strong overlay of corruption, municipal mismanagement, and partisan coverup crew formerly known as journalists. Think of the unhoused program managers in San Francisco or the emergency response managers in Maui or the conflicted CDC NIH mavens. These people make enormous salaries, are criminally bad at their jobs, and yet face zero accountability.

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James F. Richardson's avatar

Boom. I'd add Freddie that the creator elites simply reflect the apotheosis of American individualism itself. Creating, standing out and being interesting are what we value in public in our society, NOT serving one's community humbly and without recognition. The objective growth in the upper-middle-class allowed millions "to take a day job while trying to become a novelist" but this is honestly what we valorize, even on Substack we reinforce it constantly. I had a kid cleaning my house last year who saw my business book "Ramping Your Brand," asked to buy a copy so he "could work on my personal brand." I gave it to him for free and he quit two months later! WTF!?

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