Wealth compounds. 10% growth on a lot is a lot more than 10% growth on nothing. If you look at GDP per capita in England, it exploded in the last 200 years. This means that each generation, if they are playing the game, earn a bucket load more than the last. It also means that if you don't play the game, your life will progressively look far more different to the generation that came before. Standing still is falling behind. If you don't believe in Hereditary Wealth, and you believe kids should be pushed out of the nest at 18, their lives will progressively look dramatically different.
As a Soutie, one of the obvious differences between South Africa and the United Kingdom is the pragmatism of degree choices. The lucky few who get to go to university in South Africa, primarily choose money-making degrees. Business Degrees and STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) tend to put food on the table. The proud history of Universities in the UK is of a Liberal Arts degree. You study to learn to think... then you get trained on the job. The challenge is, if you choose a non-money making job... you are certainly not going to fly in the same way as the Eagles. That is fine. It is a choice. It does put a strain on communities when lifestyles are varied.
As a Soutie, one of the obvious differences between South Africa and the United Kingdom is the pragmatism of degree choices. The lucky few who get to go to university in South Africa, primarily choose money-making degrees. Business Degrees and STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) tend to put food on the table. The proud history of Universities in the UK is of a Liberal Arts degree. You study to learn to think... then you get trained on the job. The challenge is, if you choose a non-money making job... you are certainly not going to fly in the same way as the Eagles. That is fine. It is a choice. It does put a strain on communities when lifestyles are varied.
There is an analogous strain in the other direction in South Africa. Tearing itself painfully from the grip of Apartheid, it is fairly common for the parents of Engineers, Accountants, Doctors and Lawyers to be Domestic Workers or Gardeners. The concept of a "Black Tax" is that first generation Freedom Babies who do well financially, often have an entire community to support. That community may have pooled their money to finance the studies, effectively buying a stake in future earnings.
Financial progress is great. There are however real unintended consequences that families, communities, and countries are only just beginning to grapple with as we get pulled in multiple directions.
Financial progress is great. There are however real unintended consequences that families, communities, and countries are only just beginning to grapple with as we get pulled in multiple directions.
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