Re: Openness amplifies Inequality?

Posted by Steve Smith on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Fwd-Major-bug-called-Heartbleed-exposes-Internet-data-tp7585135p7585157.html

Roger -

So, what's the question here?

The original (implicit) question was *does* Openness amplify Inequality as a matter of course?

My elaborated question in light of both yours and Marcus' response is what the balance might be between:

1. A specific "conspiracy" by (straight?) white males to exclude all others from this profession (or access to any desirable resources?).
2. A less specific "conspiracy" by *any* dominant group to exclude all others from access to desirable resources.
3. A specific structural (in phase space) feature of this profession as a dynamic system which selects for homogeneity of membership and therefore access to certain desirable resources.
4. A general feature of a more general class of systems of which a profession such as this is likely to tend toward homogeneity.

Simply put, I think it may be a truism that "dominance begets dominance" rather than white-male-straightness is fundamentally hinky?

On the other hand, I think it *is* arguable that both maleness and straightness may select for specific behaviors (forms of aggression/competition?) that might actually aggravate/accelerate this dynamic at least in comparison to many (some average of) females and/or homosexual males. 

I'm not as sure about whiteness (melanin content of skin?) though there may be a positive correlation between social groups which evolved in harsher climates with long periods of low productivity (winter) punctuated with shorter periods of high productivity and strategies for controlling the resulting resources effectively.   This seems to be broadly correlated with the evolution of more northern peoples which seems also to select for lowered melanin in the skin.

I don't think it is unique to heterosexuals, nor men, nor white people to exhibit in-group altruism as you suggest or a familiarity-selfishness as Marcus riposted with.  I only question whether this is unique to the impugned group.   I make a weak argument above, I think that said group may be more capable or even inclined to such, but it doesn't seem to be a simple black and white matter.

That said, *as* a member of said group by circumstance, I *am* interested in understanding what kind of a system (social?) could be implemented/engaged-in which would not reinforce those qualities.   It is accepted that as a member of said group (in our culture) that I have benefited from all of this, and I think I can find  many ways in which I specifically *do*, although I can also find examples where I personally got the proverbial "short end" of this and that, so I am not without experience with "short ends", for whatever that is worth.

- Steve

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