Think about it. We all recognize that people with legacies get an unfair advantage in life. Successful societies recognize this, successful institutions recognize this. That’s why programs that create diversity, that encourage people without legacies are the norm today.
Well, I think such programs are too narrow in their scope. That is because the programs define ‘legacy” as inherited wealth. This is why Universities now admit a sizable number of students who are intelligent but not wealthy enough to afford education expenses of $55,000 per year.
But wait a minute. Isn’t intelligence itself a legacy asset? Think about it. Either you are born with intelligence or you are not. So intelligence is a legacy given to you by your parents, your genetics. In other words, intelligence is as much an inherited advantage as wealth is. So when Universities select “intelligent” students, they are willfully engaging in unfair social practices or discrimination.
So I propose a new equality regime for Universities and Colleges. They should mainly admit students with failing grades, with low SAT scores. These are the students that really need education. Kids with perfect SAT scores can fend for themselves. They have the intelligence legacy to fall back on.
As I write this, I am struck by an even greater, a much more unfair “legacy” advantage. Beauty or looks. Your looks are a legacy you inherit from your parents, from your genetics. Beautiful women and handsome men tend to do far better in life than those without such legacy. Frankly, the legacy of looks gets you farther in life, gets you much more money than the legacy of intelligence. Just look at Television or Movies. So under the new equality regime, TV & Movies should mainly hire people who don’t look good. They should ban beauty.
That brings me to my own personal fight against legacy advantage. I love the center position in basketball. In my mind, I always play center and block shots from players who dare to venture in the lane. I love getting offensive rebounds and dunking, all in my mind of course. I remember what Larry Bird said about Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal when he lost to the Lakers both as a player and a coach. He said they couldn’t do anything against the big guy in the middle.
Why can’t I play like Shaq? Just three things, his height, size, and athletic talent. Shaq didn’t build those assets, somebody else built them for him. They were a legacy from his parents, his genetics. I guarantee I would be as good as Shaq if I had the legacy advantage of his height, size, and talent. Heck, I would be even better than Shaq. Because I wouldn’t miss so many free throws. Because making free throws is not a legacy. It just requires hours of practice. In my personal view, our society cannot be an egalitarian, fair and equal society until people like me get drafted by Lakers to play center at Shaq’s compensation.
Let me be honest. I do not have the legacy smarts to think of such a deep conceptual framework of fairness. For the above profound insight, I thank the great land that gave the world the slogan, liberte, egalite, fraternite. I learned this new wisdom from the words and action of French President Francois Hollande, as reported by ABC news (thanks Zerohedge).
Hollande has proposed banning homework. Yes, banning homework as a part of his reform of the French educational system. Why? ABC tells us.
- “Education is priority,” Hollande said in a speech at Paris’s Sorbonne University. “An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home.”
- The justification for this proposed ban? Inequality. According to a statement from an official at the French Embassy, “When it comes to homework, the President said it should be done during school hours rather than at home, in order to establish equal opportunities.” Homework favors the wealthy, Hollande argues, because they are more likely to have a good working environment at home, including parents with the time and energy to help them with their work.
So ability to do homework is a legacy asset. Wow! Why couldn’t we all think like that? Now when a student does her or his homework, we can all say to that student “You didn’t do that! Someone else, your parents, your genetics, did that“.
So in homage to President Hollande, I hereby term this new wisdom Egalite Nouveau and I call on American society to ban Intelligence, Beauty and Athletic talent from professions that have required these legacy assets in the past.
And speaking personally, I feel I am Entitled under Egalite Nouveau to take the place of A-Rod in the Yankee roster at his current compensation. After all, my contribution to the Yankees could not have been less material than A-Rod’s during the 2012 playoffs.
Egalite Nouveau! Vive Le France
* Or Vive la France, per wictionnaire – they tell us France is feminine
Send your feedback to [email protected] or @MacroViewpoints on Twitter
