Exploring the lasting effects of childhood instability on future success, this chapter discusses the importance of addressing instability during the critical first five to seven years of a child's life. Citing research comparing social mobility in Denmark with the US, the chapter emphasizes the role of early life experiences in shaping individuals' paths towards success and challenges faced during adulthood.
Friend-of-the-show Rob Henderson returns to discuss his powerful, moving and important debut book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (published TODAY). We discuss Rob’s experience of the American foster care and adoption system, the life-changing impact of the military, the rise of Luxury Beliefs, the benefits of standardized testing, and MUCH more.
Important Links:
Show Notes:
- Foster Care, Adoption & Social Mobility
- Structural Origins of the Foster System
- Why Early-Life Stability is Underrated
- How Ideas Can Change Outcomes
- The Life-Changing Impact of the Military
- Young Male Syndrome
- The Role of Intelligence in Governing Outcomes
- The Benefits of Standardized Testing
- Yale, Luxury Beliefs & the Rise of Identity Politics
- Are Luxury Beliefs a Political or Class Phenomenon?
- Trickle-Down Meritocracy
- Technology, Assortive Mating & Social Mobility
- Is the Overton Window Shifting on Campus?
- Rob as Emperor of the World
Books and Articles Mentioned: