Gregory Clark: what has genetics to do with social status?
Oct 29, 2023
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Dr. Gregory Clark, a past guest on this podcast, discusses his shocking finding that a simple genetic model explains social status distribution in England. He explains how wealth is passed down equally from mother and father, and that social mobility has remained unchanged for 400 years. Clark also reveals high rates of inheritance of social status in other societies.
Genetics, rather than cultural factors, play a significant role in the intergenerational inheritance of social status.
Assortative mating, where individuals choose partners with similar social characteristics, contributes to the persistent nature of social mobility.
Despite societal shifts, social mobility rates in England have remained relatively unchanged for over 400 years.
Deep dives
Key Point 1: Persistence of Social Mobility
The podcast episode explores the persistence of social mobility across generations. The host discusses the findings of a study conducted in England, which suggests a high level of intergenerational persistence of social status. The study uses various measures, such as occupation, literacy, and wealth, to examine the correlation between parents and offspring. The results show that social mobility does not change significantly over time, and there is a strong correlation in status between relatives, even as distant as fourth cousins.
Key Point 2: Genetic Factors in Social Mobility
The podcast discusses the role of genetics in social mobility. The study finds a high genetic correlation in social outcomes between partners in marriage, which suggests a significant genetic influence on life outcomes. The findings challenge traditional cultural or environmental explanations of social mobility, indicating that genetics play a more substantial role. The study also highlights the limitations of measures such as years of schooling in capturing social status.
Key Point 3: Assortative Mating and Social Status
The podcast delves into the role of assortative mating in social mobility. The study reveals a strong assortment in marriage, where individuals tend to choose partners who share similar social characteristics. This assortment contributes to the persistence of social mobility across generations. The findings suggest that individual choices in marriage, influenced by subconscious preferences for certain social traits, play a significant role in shaping social status and mobility.
Genetic transmission in social status
The podcast discusses the findings of a research paper on the inheritance and transmission of social status in England over the past 300 years. The study examined various factors influencing social mobility, including birth order and cultural evolution. Surprisingly, the data showed that birth order did not significantly impact social mobility. Additionally, the study found no substantial changes in social mobility rates despite the significant societal shifts during the time period examined. These findings challenge traditional cultural evolution models and suggest a potential role for genetic transmission in social outcomes.
Controversies and implications
The podcast delves into the reactions and discussions sparked by the research paper. While some embraced the results, others expressed anger and skepticism. Despite the criticism, the data presented in the paper aligns with a simple genetic transmission model for explaining social status inheritance. The paper invites further exploration of alternative cultural transmission models that can produce similar correlations. The podcast also highlights the need for scholarly discussions and open-mindedness when examining complex societal issues, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple models and perspectives.
Today Razib and Clark discuss his shocking finding that a simple model predicated on genetic relatedness explains the status distribution across many centuries in England. Clark finds that even where wealth is passed from father to offspring (expected in a patriarchal society), occupational status is inherited equally from mother and father, as expected in a genetic framework rather than cultural framework. Another surprising result from Clark’s dataset is that the rate of social mobility has been unchanged across 400 years in England, despite massive cultural and political shifts. He also finds high rates of inheritance of social status in many other societies, with the highest in the Indian subcontinent.
Razib asks Clark how it could be that the data shows such consistently similar rates of social status mobility across periods as different as Victorian England or post-World-War-II Britain. Clark also addresses why he did not work on a model that integrated cultural inheritance; in short, those models were more complex and seemed far less satisfying than his two-parameter equation. He also addresses the social media furor in response to his paper, and his defense against the charge that he’s a eugenicist.
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