为何工薪阶层的孩子不太可能得到精英工作？ [美国媒体]

Whyare working class kids less likely to get elite jobs? They study too hard atcollege.

为什么工薪阶层的孩子不太可能得到精英工作？因为他们在学校里学习太刻苦了
【原文发表日期】2015年9月23日



Courtesy, Princeton UniversityPress

图片来源：普林斯顿大学出版社

Lauren Rivera is an associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of management. Her recent book, “Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs,” examines how inequality is produced by subtle social patterns of education and informal skills as well as big political and economic forces. I asked her four questions about the book.

劳伦•里韦拉，西北大学凯洛格商学院管理与组织学副教授，在她最新出版的《门第：精英学生如何得到精英工作》（Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs）一书中，对一些潜在社会因素（如教育、非正式技能以及强大的政治与经济实力）怎样造成了不平等的现象进行了探究。就本书内容我向她提出了四个问题。

When social scientists think about economic inequality and the ways in which elites are able to hand down advantages to their kids, they usually argue that it’s driven by obvious material differences, such as access to good schools. Your book argues that elite privilege can involve subtle benefits that help some students – and not others – get jobs at top ranked law firms, banks and management consultancies. What are these benefits?

当社会科学家思考贫富差距和精英们是如何将优势代代相传之类的问题时，通常会归结于物质条件上的巨大差异，比如说上个好学校。你的书则认为精英特权还包括一些潜在的优势，正是这些不易察觉的优势帮助他们获得了顶级律师事务所、银行和管理咨询公司的工作机会。那么这些优势是什么？

LR – Whether intentionally or not, elite parents expose their children to different experiences and styles of interacting that are useful for getting ahead in society. Many of these are taken for granted in upper and upper-middle class circles, such as how to prepare a college application (and having cultivated the right types of accomplishments to impress admissions officers), how to network in a business setting in a way that seems natural, and how to develop rapport with teachers, interviewers, and other gatekeepers to get things you want from those in power. Basically, if we think of economic inequality as a sporting competition, elite parents give their kids a leg up, not only by being able to afford the equipment necessary to play but also by teaching them the rules of the game and giving them insider tips on how to win.

劳伦-里韦拉：不管是有意还是无意，精英阶层的父母会让小孩接触体验到各种不同的交际活动，这对他们在社会中取得成功大有裨益。为申请大学做准备（在某些领域取得成绩让招生负责人印象深刻），在商务活动中以一种较为自然的方式建立人际关系网，以及与教师、面试官、门卫这些有一定权力的人相处融洽以便从中获利，诸如此类的活动在上层和中上层的圈子里被认为是理所当然的。简单来说，如果将贫富差距看作是一场竞技比赛，精英父母在这场赛事中能为孩子做的除了提供必要的装备，还可以帮助孩子了解比赛规则并为最终的胜利出谋划策。

One of your most counter-intuitive arguments is that students from working class and lower-middle class backgrounds are less likely to get elite jobs, because they concentrate on studying rather than their social life at college. That’s the opposite of what the conventional wisdom would suggest. How does these students’ devotion to academic seriousness hurt their job prospects?

在书中你提出了一个最反常规的观点，即工薪阶层和中下阶层出身的学生，不太可能获得精英工作的原因在于，他们将精力都投入了学习中而忽视了大学里的社交生活。这与传统观念正好相反。这些学生对学业的过分投入究竟会对他们的就业前景造成怎样的不良影响？

LR – Working and lower-middle-class children are less likely to participate in structured extracurricular activities than their more privileged peers while growing up (and when they do, they tend to participate in fewer of them). This hurts their job prospects in two ways. First, it affects the types of schools students attend. Elite universities weigh extracurricular activities heavily in admissions decisions. Given that these employers—which offer some of the highest-paying entry-level jobs in the country—recruit almost exclusively at top schools, many students who focus purely on their studies will be out of the game long before they ever apply to firms. Second, employers also use extracurricular activities, especially those that are driven by “passion” rather than academic or professional interest and require large investments of time and money over many years, to screen résumés. But participation in these activities while in college or graduate school is not a luxury that all can afford, especially if someone needs to work long hours to pay the bills or take care of family members. Essentially, extracurriculars end up being a double filter on social class that disadvantages job applicants from more modest means both in entering the recruiting pipeline and succeeding within it.

劳伦•里韦拉：在成长过程中，比起那些享有更多特权的同龄人，工薪阶层和中下阶层出身的孩子不太可能会去参加课外活动（即便参与了，也只可能会参加少数）。这样会对他们的就业前景产生不良影响，表现在两个方面。首先，他们在学校的选择上会受影响。在精英大学的招生决策中课外活动是一个重要的考量依据。鉴于国内这些提供最高薪初级岗位工作机会的雇主，几乎都只从顶级学校招人，所以那些只会专心读书的学生，早在还没应聘之前就已经在这场竞争中出局了。其次，雇主在筛选简历时，会以课外活动作为一个条件，尤其是那些由“热爱”驱动而不是出自学术或专业兴趣的，需要持续投入大量时间和金钱的课外活动。在本科或研究生时期参加这种课外活动，对有些需要长时间工作来挣钱或照顾家人的学生来说，就像一件并非人人都买得起的奢侈品。从本质上讲，课外活动最终将成为社会阶层的双重过滤器，这将对过分谦虚的求职者的入围资格和获得职位产生不利影响。

Your book finds an enormous difference in how many recruiters at elite firms treat graduates from a tiny number of prestigious colleges, and how they treat everyone else. Candidates who “chose” to go to a lower ranked school are seen by some recruiters as having demonstrated moral failure. What drives this culture of selectivity and perpetuates it?

你的书中还提到，许多精英公司的招聘人员在对待名校毕业生和其他毕业生时有着极大的区别。求职候选人选择上一所低排名学校在一些招聘者眼里看来无异于道德败坏。是什么原因在推动着这种选择文化延续至今？

LR – Quite simply, we like people who are similar to ourselves. Ask anyone what constitutes a good driver, leader, or parent, and chances are they will describe someone like themselves. The same is true for how people think of merit in the working world. Most employees in these firms are graduates of highly elite undergraduate or graduate programs and believe that’s where talent really resides. In addition, given how segregated our society has become socioeconomically, people who grow up in upper-middle or upper-class communities where college attendance is the norm may not realize structural factors that influence educational pathways and erroneously view university prestige as a reflection of ability alone. Finally, national rankings matter. Rankings provide an easily quantifiable, presumably “scientific” way of making sense of the myriad of educational institutions out there. They both reinforce beliefs that school prestige equals student quality (even though things having nothing to do with students’ abilities factor into a university’s rank) and serve as a convenient justification for limiting recruitment to a small number of elite schools with strong alumni ties to firms.

劳伦-里韦拉：原因很简单，我们喜欢与自己同类型的人。随便问一个人怎么样才能成为一名好司机、好领导或是好父母，他们的回答很有可能就是在描述他们自己。同样地，人们在谈到职业优势时也是如此。这些精英公司的绝大多数员工都是从顶尖精英本科或研究生项目毕业的学生，他们认为那里才是人才应该待的地方。此外，鉴于社会经济方面的隔阂已经形成，出身中上层和上层的人们大多受过高等教育，他们可能没有意识到结构性因素对受教育机会的影响，并误把学校的声望视做个人能力的反映。最后，这与国内的（院校）排名也有关系。在数不清的教育机构面前，（院校）排名提供给人们的是一种简单可量化、也算得上“科学”的方法来了解这些学校。院校排名的存在，既坚定了学校声望等同于学生素质的看法（虽然大学排名和学生能力没什么关系），当招聘者将招聘固定在有强烈校友传统的少数名校范围内时，这又成了个现成的理由。

One of the ways in which your book has been received is as a way for people to figure out how to improve their chances of getting a job at an elite firm. One prominent review treated your book as more or less a “how to” guide for joining the 1 percent. This, presumably, wasn’t your motivation for writing the book. What’s your reaction to readers who are reading the book in ways that may potentially reinforce the problematic system that it is describing?

书中所提到了一个方法，被视为提高进入精英公司概率的途径。有个着名评论多少也把此书看作是“怎样”成为1%的指南书。这也许并不是你写书的目的。如果读者读完本书之后，反而向有问题的体系靠拢了，你会作何感想？

LR – The purpose of the book was to reveal how taken-for-granted ideas about what merit is and how best to measure it contribute to class inequalities at the top of the U.S. economic ladder. I certainly did not intend for the book to be interpreted as a how-to manual. However, given rising levels of anxiety about class position among the relatively advantaged and the high stakes of getting jobs in these firms, I’m not entirely surprised that some people are using it as a tool to try to game the system. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it can help groups currently disadvantaged in the hiring process, such as working class students and racial minorities, break into these jobs. On the other hand, it can benefit the already advantaged and reinforce the types of inequalities documented in the book. My hope, however, is that the research will open employees’ eyes about inequities and inefficiencies in the way hiring is currently done in these firms and motivate change in a positive direction.

劳伦•里韦拉：我写书的目的有两个，一是揭示人们对于优势存有一些想当然的看法，二是如何估量这些优势在美国经济链顶端处的阶级不平等现象中起到的作用。我肯定不希望这本书被当作一本指南书来使用。但考虑到人们对拥有相对优势阶层的焦虑日渐增长，在这些精英公司求职难度加大的情况下，有人会将这本书当作一个工具并试着在这个体系中放手一搏，我也不会太惊讶。对此我心里还是挺矛盾的。一方面，它可以帮助一些在应聘中处于劣势的群体（如工薪阶层背景的学生和少数族裔）获得这些（精英）工作。另一方面，它也可以使既得利益者受益，即书中所述的各种不平等现象得到了强化巩固。我个人的希望是，这个研究能让这些（精英）公司的雇主意识到现有招聘中所存在的不平等和低效率现象，然后做出相应的调整使这个现象能往一个好的方向改观。

NOOP1
10:35 AM GMT+0800
you wanna high probability of joining the top 5 salary % by working, get a STEM degree.  
Otherwise become a management puke.

如果你想获得前5%的薪水，就要有个STEM学位。
否则就只能做个卑微的行政人员了。
【注：STEM代表科学（Science），技术（Technology），工程（Engineering），数学（Mathematics）。】

Mozurmamorikzi
3:51 PM GMT+0800
What about a "Art History Degree"?  Smile

那艺术历史学位呢？（笑）

Drooling Imbecile
9/25/2015 11:17 PM GMT+0800
I can't until we're like the Soviet Union, and everyone wears the exact same clothes, eats the exact same horrible food and misery i equally shared. Fairness at last! Damn that Ronald Reagan for defeating paradise on earth. Let's just deport all the white people and fairness will prevail.

这是不可能的，除非像苏联那样，每个人穿一样的衣服，一起吃可怕的食物，一同遭罪。公平终会到来！该死的罗纳德•里根毁掉了这个人间天堂。让我们赶走所有的白人，公平将会获胜。

Mixed Message
11:04 AM GMT+0800
Your name suits you.

你的ID挺配你的。
【注：Drooling Imbecile 从字面意思看是“流口水的低能儿”】

Mozurmamorikzi
3:52 PM GMT+0800
Nice! Smile

说的好！（笑）

tidelandermdva
9/25/2015 3:20 AM GMT+0800
I was in a group of outplaced employees being tutored on resumes by a former ITT recruiter. An employee asked him about the importance of connections in getting a job (which he had not mentioned). He said it was critical. E explained, while he could not hire his own kid, he could hire the kid of his neighbor in his elite neighborhood and the neighbor could hire his kid.

我曾和一群将被重新安置的员工参加过一个由前ITT招聘人员进行授课的简历辅导培训。一位员工问这位招聘人员，人脉在找工作时有多重要（招聘人员培训时没提到过这点）。他回答说很重要，并这样解释道，当他没办法雇佣自己的孩子，他可以在家庭所在的精英社区里选出一位邻居的孩子将其雇佣，然后这位邻居就会雇佣自己的孩子。

kirtu
9/27/2015 11:32 PM GMT+0800 [Edited]
Connections are really the only important thing. De facto nepotism is how America works. Hard facts and not a recipe for innovation.

人脉确实是唯一要素。事实上美国社会的运转靠的就是裙带关系。这是个残酷的事实，而且对创新无益。

kirtu
9/27/2015 11:32 PM GMT+0800
The reality is that connections are really the only thing. De facto nepotism is how America works.

现实是人脉确实是唯一要素。事实上美国社会的运转靠的就是裙带关系。

Abe Krieger
9/25/2015 2:29 AM GMT+0800
The Wash. Post is becoming more and more like the Huff Post daily. Students who work hard and make the Dean's List every term in the RIGHT majors will land elite jobs. It's almost guaranteed.

《华盛顿邮报》现在越来越像《赫芬顿邮报》了。那些刻苦学习、每学期都出现在优秀学生名单中的学生，只要专业对口，就能获得精英工作。这几乎是板上钉钉的事。

MaryRachelK
9/25/2015 12:18 AM GMT+0800
As a lower middle class college student way back when - I never wanted to join a sorority or any of that stuff. I thought those preppy kids were so icky, crass and horrid. In a way, I saw them as beneath me. I still do. Thankfully, I work in a creative field. I've learned to fake it (the business networking and savvy) but I still want to throw up when I see a blue blazer and khakis.

我是一个从中下阶层走出的大学生，还在上学时我就坚决不参加姐妹会或者其他类似的组织。我觉得那些私校毕业生很讨厌，她们既愚蠢又可怕。而且我觉得她们还有点不如我，直到现在我还是这么认为。谢天谢地，我现在在创意领域工作。如今我已经学会表面上的生意往来和洞察力，但是每次看到蓝色上衣和卡其裤时，我还是会想吐。

pthrelf1
9/25/2015 12:17 AM GMT+0800
This is all in line with what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu discussed 30 years ago. The connection between cultural and social capital in recreating economic capital should never be ignored. If we paid better attention to this, we would be able to create better strategies for breaking down perpetual inequality.

这与30年前社会学家皮埃尔•布尔迪厄所说的没什么两样。在重建经济资本这件事上我们不应该忽视文化和社会资本之间的联系。如果能更好的注意到这点，我们就能够找到更好的策略来打破长久以来的不平等。

msmith20007
9/24/2015 11:38 PM GMT+0800 [Edited]
Don't forget the power of unpaid internships. A professor offered me one in college, but I turned it down because I was busy working long hours to pay for my college tuition. In hindsight, the internship would have paid off more in the long run and given me some management experience. But not everyone can afford to take an unpaid internship.

别忘了无薪实习的作用。在学校时曾有个教授给我提供了一个无薪实习的机会，但是因为当时我正忙着长时间的工作来赚取我的学费，所以就被我拒绝了。事后想想，从长远来看其实（无薪）实习能让我获益更多，我能从中获得一些管理经验。但不是每个人都负担得起无薪实习的。

magwitch
9/25/2015 7:51 PM GMT+0800
My kid was determined to get a paid internship, and she did. Got $12/hour for the summer, about 10 years ago, which was decent, especially since she could live at home and do it. She also got a fantastic reference from it. She was called possibly the best intern they ever had!

我女儿就曾做过带薪实习生。10年前的那个夏天她的薪酬按每小时12美元算，这份工作太棒了，尤其是实习期间她还能回家住。这份实习工作还让她获得了一封很棒的介绍信。单位同事说她也许是他们见过的最棒的实习生！

jjc1
9/24/2015 10:22 PM GMT+0800
I grew up in a working class family. Not until college did I begin to understand upper-class culture. There I met guys who'd never been in a fistfight, but knew the inner workings of big business and politics. Hell, they knew about wine tastings, which struck me as trivial. They knew about Caribbean cruises, and so did I; only mine was on a banana boat. I had a reasonably successful career as a scientist, but never acquired the polish of my friends from the upper classes . But I'm not complaining. I wanted to do science, not become a CEO or legislator, and I got pretty much what I wanted.

我成长在一个工人阶级家庭。直到上了大学我才开始了解上流社会的文化。在那个圈子里遇到的那些人，从没打过架，但却知道大企业和政治上的内部运作。该死的是，他们会品酒，这在我看来却是微不足道的一件事。他们会去加勒比海巡游，我也会，只不过我靠的是一艘香蕉船。按理说我是个成功的科学家，但怎么也没法像我的上流社会朋友那般优雅。但我从不为此而抱怨，我只想投身科学，没想过要当CEO或是立法委员，现在我也基本实现了我的目标。

Backinmd
9/25/2015 7:10 AM GMT+0800
Wine tasting ? Phlease ... How about imported beer or Scotch ...People I've known who got into the wine tasting thing are as phony as a $three dollar bill ..Does Boones Farm count ?

品酒？拜托…进口啤酒和苏格兰威士忌怎么样？我认识的一些爱品酒的人就是些骗子，假得跟三美元纸币一样。布恩农场算吗？
【注：美元纸币面额分为1、2、5、10、20、50、100七种。布恩农场（Boone’s Farm）查到的是嘉露酒庄的旗下品牌，网址链接：http://www.wine

world.com/topic/164238245/20131019092055263 】
truthonlyplease
9/24/2015 9:44 PM GMT+0800
so let me see if I have this straight. A person that does lots of extra-curricular activities, moves more easily around the elite and graduates from an elite college is NOT better qualified to get the job? Someone that has a family that has worked hard and been successful for generations should NOT have an advantage over someone who's family has failed for generations? How is that supposed to work. What in the world do you think people are successful for? So their children have an advantage. What motivation would you have to follow the law and work hard if it didn't result in advantage and privilege for your family! This type of socialistic, really communistic thinking produces a lazy, corrupt population. See Greece. Nothing wrong with trying to gain advantage.

现在让我看看我是否弄懂这篇文章了。一个人多参加课外活动就更容易进入精英公司，而名校毕业生就没有资格获得这份工作了？那些努力奋斗过、祖上积德的家族凭什么不能比那些祖上无能的家族多占有些优势？要不应该怎么做呢？这个世界上有些人为什么会成功？他们的孩子享有优势也是自然的。如果你遵章守法努力工作，到头来也没有为家族争取到优势和特权，你还会有动力继续这么做吗？这种社会主义思想（实际上是共产主义）只会弄出一个懒惰、腐败的群体。瞧瞧希腊现在的样子。去争取优势不是一种错。

claseur
9/24/2015 11:15 PM GMT+0800
See also: hereditary aristocracy, a system we rejected several hundred years ago.

请参阅：几百年前曾被我们拒之门外的——世袭贵族制。

baltova2
9/25/2015 2:39 AM GMT+0800
Do you know the end result of giving an advantage to children of families that have been successful for generations?
George W. Bush.

你可知道，让那些祖上积德的家族子孙拥有优势的后果是什么吗？
答案就是乔治.W.布什。

FuschiaFerret
9/25/2015 6:47 AM GMT+0800
So truthonly thinks rich children deserve more than poor children based on their lives of their parents. Is truthonly also in favor of a monarchy? Because that's what it sounds like. Why bother with an election, just make Jeb Bush president. Clearly he's the most qualified because two other family members of his have already been president.  
Nobody else is qualified because their families were too lazy to become president twice. Jeb is obviously the winner. Right truthonlyplease?

所以层主“truthonlyplease”认为富家子弟就该比穷人家的孩子享有更多（优势），理由就是两者父母生活水平的差异对吧？那你是不是也支持君主制呢？因为你的说法跟这很像啊。为什么还要搞选举这么麻烦，直接让杰布•布什当总统算了。布什家族已经有过两位总统，这么看来他就是最有资格的总统人选了。

其他人都没资格（跟杰布争总统之位），因为他们家族的人太懒了，没能（像布什家族这样）出过两位总统。杰布肯定能笑到最后，对吧，层主？

John10015
9/24/2015 8:14 PM GMT+0800
As a famous actress once said, "I have been rich and I have been poor. Being Rich is Better." Looking forward to read this book and learn some tips.

一位着名女演员曾说过：“我富过也穷过。当然还是富比穷好些。”
希望能读读这本书涨些知识。

satxusa
9/24/2015 8:24 PM GMT+0800
Here is another from Sophie Tucker:  
"From birth to age 18 a girl needs good parents. From 18 to 35 she needs good looks. From 35 to 55 she needs a good personality. From 55 on, she needs good cash."

苏菲•塔克也说过：“一个女孩，0到18岁要有好父母；18到35岁要有副好容貌；35到55岁要有个好性格；从55岁开始，她就开始需要钱了。”

FuschiaFerret
9/25/2015 6:49 AM GMT+0800
Oh dear. I better get going on polishing up my personality!  Smile

噢，看来我得开始改善一下自己的性格了！（笑）

phillipsguide
9/24/2015 6:41 PM GMT+0800
Yeah, OR we can restructure the tax system and college loan system to make the playing field more level and more rewarding of real talent, not just privilege. American would certainly benefit.

没错，或许我们应该重建一个税收制度和大学贷款制度，让竞争环境变得更加公平，真正的人才能更多地受益，而不仅仅只是特权阶层。美国人也必将从中受益。

satxusa
9/24/2015 8:20 PM GMT+0800
You obviously read your DNC provided talking points instead of the article.

显然你读的不是这篇文章，而是民主党全国委员会的讨论议题。

truthonlyplease
9/24/2015 9:51 PM GMT+0800
you believe the college success is "just privilege" and not real talent? You believe elite colleges are full of people who's family got them good grades in elite private schools and took their sat for them? i have been through this process with my kids three times recently and I can tell you it is just as likely an unqualified student is there because the color of their skin as the wealth of their parents. My children have been passed over numerous times over the yearsfor less qualified minorities. Mainly blacks. Truth on the street.

在你眼里，能在大学时代取得成功的人都只是因为他们是“特权阶层”而不是真正的人才？你以为名校的学生都是靠家里帮他们在私立精英学校拿到好分数，帮他们去考SAT的吗？最近我和我的孩子们就有过三次这样的经历，我可以这么跟你说，（名校中）存在滥竽充数的学生，有可能是因为他们的肤色，也有可能就是家里有钱。这些年来，我的孩子多次在和不合要求的少数族裔的竞争中败下阵来，他们多数是黑人。真相就在大街上。

cooofnj
9/25/2015 12:46 AM GMT+0800
Oh that's hysterical! As a lower middle class kid who made it to an elite university for graduate school, I was a teaching assistant for little darlings of the rich. Just because your are rich does not mean your kids are smart - my experience is that the average IQ difference between rich people and poor people is about zero. In several years of being a teaching assistant I can honestly remember one and only one kid who came from money and realized the value of that. He truly and humbly appreciated what his parents had done for him. Mostly I remember little s**ts who felt the world owed them a good grade because of who they were. Honestly, they would say to me "do you know who my father is?" when they got the grade they honestly deserved (usually not terrible but not up to the parent's expectation). If they deserved and A I gave them an A (and I really did give out As) but if they deserved a B- they got it. And yes, there were affirmative action kids in the classes. And they also got exactly the grade they deserved. Truth in the classroom.

真是太搞笑了。我来自中下阶层家庭，考上了一所名校的研究生，曾经当过富家子弟的助教。根据我个人经验，富人和穷人的智商差距几乎为零, 就算你有钱也不意味着你的孩子就一定聪明。做助教的那几年里，我只记得有一个富人孩子认识到了金钱的价值。他由衷感激父母为他所做的一切。而其他的小混蛋总觉得凭他们的身份地位他们拿高分是理所当然的。老实说，当他们拿到自己应得的分数时（不算太差但是达不到父母的要求），就会对我说“你知道我爸是谁吗？”。如果他们的成绩是A我就给他们A（我给过很多A），但是如果他们的成绩是B-，我就会给他们B-。当然这里也有因平权政策而招进来的学生。他们也都能拿到与自身真实水平相匹配的成绩。真相就在课堂上。

Adam Saven
9/24/2015 5:19 PM GMT+0800
Thanks for sharing this thoughtful article! There are certainly a number of confounding variables that make it hard to identify a single reason why wealthy disparity seems to be getting worse and worse.
With that being said, I've seen a pretty interesting trend of students from top schools to disavow the conventional route of working in elite industries in favor of giving back and doing more meaningful work.
A friend of mine started 80000hours.org which has a great deal of success in inspiring bright you people to give back and provides a great deal of resources in closing the knowledge gap about potential career opportunities.
Inevitably, nepotism and connections play a large role in perpetuating the perceived unfair advantage. With that being said, there was many who are willing and excited to help passionate students who seek out opportunities.
With our site CampusKudos, we have built a community of 2,000+ professionals who are willing to help students out not just from their alma mater but all schools.
The reality is who you know matters. It will continue to matter. Where we can help out is by making it is easier for individuals who did not have access to these "extracurricular activities" the opportunity to connect with mentors who can lead them on the right path, make them better communicators, and connect them with opportunity.

谢谢你给我们分享了这篇富有思想的文章。因为太多的干扰项的存在，要找出一个单一的原因来解释为什么财富的不平等现象愈发严重是件很困难的事。

说到这，就要提到一个有意思的趋势，顶级学校的学生开始打破就职精英行业的惯例，转而倾向于回报社会，做一些更有意义的工作。
我的一位朋友开始为80000 Hours组织工作，该组织在鼓励人们回报社会和为缩小就业差距提供大量资源等方面做的十分成功。
不可避免的是，裙带关系和人脉在已知的不公平优势的延续上起了很大作用。既然提到了这个，我想说有很多人还是很愿意帮助那些积极上进的学生寻找机会的。
我们建立的CampusKudos网站，有一个由2000名以上专业人士组成的团体，志愿帮助所有院校的学生解决问题。
事实上，你认识哪些人，这对你来说很重要，将来也会是如此。我们所能提供的帮助是让不太有机会参加“课外活动”的个人有机会能接触到导师，把他们引向正确的方向，增强他们的沟通能力，并为他们提供机遇。

midwest88
9/24/2015 3:39 PM GMT+0800
Thanks to people like Robert Reich, "accelerating wealth disparity" is a term which is rapidly finding its way into mainstream lexicon. It is only natural to assume that the seeds of this model are planted in family backgrounds, and allowed to take root in academic settings.

在Robert Reich等人的努力推动下，“贫富差距加剧”这一术语正迅速成为主流词汇。只能说这种模式的种子种在家庭背景中，扎根在教育机构中。
【注：Robert Reich，美国前劳工部长，经济学家，作家和教授，在影片《不平等的时代》（Inequality for All）中亲身讲述美国日益扩大的贫富差距。】

CitizenWhy
9/24/2015 3:05 PM GMT+0800
Well off kids inherit a culture of achievement as well as a culture where everyone knows how to play business politics. let's give them credit for that. And elite kids driven by "success and status are everything" are not going to be concerned about the noxious effects on society of the elite firms they join.

家境富裕的孩子能继承到的不仅有努力进取的精神财富，也有怎样玩转商业政治的智慧。他们理应被赞扬。持有“成功和地位决定一切”信念的精英子弟，并不关心他们加入的精英公司对社会会有哪些不良影响。

Ed Mr
9/24/2015 1:21 PM GMT+0800
Sort of proves it a lie that if your work hard you will suceed in America. America still has a lot of the mother countries social values, despite all the propaganda.

这从某种程度上证明了“只要努力，你就能在美国获得成功”只是个谎言。尽管（媒体）总在鼓吹（这是个全新的国度），但在美国社会中仍然充斥着大量来自各自祖国的社会价值观。

dolph924
9/24/2015 12:51 PM GMT+0800
Lots of BS here. I was a working class kid and did lots of extracurricular activities and wound up magna at Harvard, where I ran track (all are walk-ons in Ivy sports). Just take a theory and go with it, whether it has any applicability at all. What goes on after school is wealthy parents get their offspring jobs. I did fine but I wasn't given anything after school was over.

废话真多。我来自工薪阶层，参加了很多课外活动，最后以优异成绩从哈佛毕业，在学校我参加的是田径项目（常春藤运动会就是去打酱油的）。提出了一个理论就一味地附和，根本不去考虑是否适用。有钱的爸妈在孩子放学后会让孩子去打零工。虽然放学后我没被（父母）安排去做任何事，但我的表现还是很不错的。

CitizenWhy
9/24/2015 3:01 PM GMT+0800
What exactly did you learn at Harvard? That a random anecdote or example disproves a a statistical argument? You sure do show the arrogance wanted at elite firms.

你究竟在哈佛学了些什么？一个偶然的事件或例子就可以否定掉有数据来支撑的观点了？你的字里行间倒是表现出了精英公司招人时的那副傲慢嘴脸。

truthonlyplease
9/24/2015 9:54 PM GMT+0800
where is the statistical argument?

哪里看得出是有数据支撑的观点？

Rishona Campbell
9/24/2015 3:52 PM GMT+0800
There are always exceptions to the rule. As a Harvard graduate, you should realize that.

规则之外总是会有例外。作为一名哈佛的毕业生，我想你应该明白这个道理。

Brandon Shorter
9/24/2015 6:13 PM GMT+0800
Think he's lying or even worse some kinda automated bot , I honestly wonder if Business institution literally pay people to monitor the major news paper and have shills who "state the opposite of whatever might point to inequality and a unfair system " they almost repeat word for word some sorta right wing fox news fantasy about hard work and american dream working hard and cutting taxes for the wealthy is the TRUE way . This is nutty how many people do you run to on a daily basis are Harvard graduate ? what are the likely hood there drawn to this specific article and make that statement .

我觉得他在说谎，也有可能是个自动回帖的机器人。说实话，我怀疑企业机构会花钱雇人去监控主流报纸传媒，一旦出现与不平等现象或不公平体系有关的观点时，他们就会雇水军去唱反调，这些水军只会一遍又一遍地重复他们的观点，有些近似于右翼的福克斯新闻，对努力工作和美国梦充满了幻想，认为努力工作和对富人减税才是正道。这不正常，你每天碰到的人有几个是哈佛毕业的？看起来更像是个混蛋被这篇立意明确的文章引到这来发表评论。
【注：hood的意思查到的是头巾、罩子、兜帽，这些意思跟原句没看出有什么符合之处，在有道的柯林斯英汉大字典下看见有个意思是hoodlum的缩写，是流氓、罪犯、无赖的意思，对比一下觉得更符合句子。】

truthonlyplease
9/24/2015 9:59 PM GMT+0800
so you are saying a graduate of an elite school would NOT be drawn to an article on graduates of elite schools? Probably one reason you couldn't get into an elite school. To answer your question I run into harvard grads all the time. In fact my next door neighbor is one and there are at least three more in my small neighborhood.

照你的意思，名校生不会去读有关名校生的文章咯？可能因为你没机会进名校学习才会这么说。这么跟你说吧，我经常碰到哈佛毕业生。事实上住我隔壁的一位邻居就是哈佛毕业的，我住的那附近至少能找出3个以上的哈佛毕业生。

AdventurerVA
9/24/2015 12:29 PM GMT+0800
I graduated from an excellent small college and no recruiters ever - ever - came to our school. It was only after I graduated that I learned about recruiters. What a waste of talent for corporations.

我毕业于一个很小但是很棒的院校。我应聘时碰到的招聘人员没一个人去过那儿。直到毕业以后我才算是认清了招聘人员。对企业来说，错过人才是件多浪费的事情啊。

Physicsisking
9/24/2015 11:51 AM GMT+0800
Why do rich parents go through all of the effort to conceal the legacy staus of their dear mediocre child.
Where is the big longitudinal test data on a rich kid? Is it at the NCES?
Hell no.... Money buys privacy. The children of the working class will be tested and categorized.

为什么富人父母要想尽办法去隐藏他们平庸孩子的继承身份呢？
富人孩子纵向测试的大数据在哪呢？在国家教育统计中心（NCES）？
噢不，钱能买到隐私。工薪家庭的孩子会被测试和分类。

rusty3
9/24/2015 10:23 AM GMT+0800
The elite takes care of the elite. I never could have guessed.

精英们会相互关照。这我倒从没猜到过。

DataAnalyzer
9/24/2015 9:44 AM GMT+0800 [Edited]
One would expect wealthy parents to give their kids advantages so that they are more qualified than others. If they didn't, that would be news.
We will always have a top half, top 10% and top 1%. Nothing can change that. The real question is whether there's less turnover in the top levels than before. At the billionaire level, the median age is dropping, so that means more young people are able to make it big.  
As for the general population, I think the reduction in social churn at the top is tied to fewer kids in wealthy families. Back when people had 10 kids, it wouldn't be unexpected that a few screw ups couldn't maintain the lifestyle they were raised in. But with just a couple offspring, the parental investment in time, money and attention is more focused, so chances of failure are reduced. Still have some who get messed up with drugs, alcohol, DWIs, pregnancy, and laziness, but the data shows a lot fewer.  
Of course a big impact on social standing is who one marries and if one gets divorced. Thank birth control and abortions to help keep the educated and privileged in place.

人们总希望自己有个有钱的父母，好让他们在同他人的竞争中更具优势。如果谁说他不希望的话，那才是个新闻呢。
一群人中总是能排出前50%，前10%和前1%的人。这是没法改变的。真正的问题在于，如今的社会顶层人员流动率比起以前来算是低了吗？在亿万富翁这个层面上，中值年龄正不断下降，这意味着越来越多的年轻人开始加入这一群体。
对一般人群而言，我认为顶层社会动荡减少的原因与富裕家庭少子化有关。从前家里有10个孩子的时候，就算有几个不成器也不至于让原有的生活水平无以为继。但现在就那么一两个孩子，家长在时间、金钱、关注方面的养育投入则更为集中，孩子成才的失败率也随之下降。当然还是会有人染上毒瘾、酗酒、酒驾、早孕、懒惰，但数据显示这种情况已经少了很多。
当然会对社会地位产生重要影响的还有嫁了谁或是跟谁离了。多亏了节育措施和堕胎，让教育和特权的地位得以保持。

jayster
9/24/2015 10:08 AM GMT+0800
"Back when people had 10 kids, it wouldn't be unexpected that a few screw ups couldn't maintain the lifestyle they were raised in." The Bush family says that you are wrong. Neil, George, and Jeb were all screw ups, or merely mundanely stupid, and yet they've all done pretty well simply because of their last name.

[引用评论：从前家里有10个孩子的时候，就算有几个不成器也不至于让原有的生活水平无以为继。]
布什家族要跳出来打脸了。尼尔、乔治、杰布都是不成器的东西，也可以说是庸俗的笨蛋，之所以他们现在都还混得挺不错，还不是靠的他们背后的家族。

Physicsisking
9/24/2015 11:41 AM GMT+0800
@data anal
Hmmmm....I guess you do not bother with magnitudes.
I guess you do not bother with the variances either.
Your analysis is the speculation of a social worker.

额，我认为你既没有提到数量级，也不考虑实际差异。你的分析就只是一个社会工作者的推测而已。

LeoMarius
9/24/2015 9:32 AM GMT+0800 [Edited]
And this is why the US has such low social mobility. Social mobility is much higher in Europe and Canada than the US. Britain has the worst social mobility in the EU, and yet, even with Britain's explicit aristocracy, an American is far more likely to die in the social class of his birth than a Brit.

这就是美国的社会流动性为什么会这么低的原因。欧洲和加拿大的社会流动性都比美国要高得多。有着明确贵族体系的英国社会流动性在全欧洲最差，可即便是这样，比起英国人来，美国人倒是更可能在其出身阶层原地踏步一辈子。

Tightenyourbeltway
9/24/2015 9:32 AM GMT+0800
Well, that explains why most of America's CEO's went to schools nobody has heard of.

好吧，这就解释了为什么大多数的CEO所就读的学校人们连听都没听说过。

DW_a_mom
9/24/2015 6:59 AM GMT+0800
I've discovered over time that there is a segment of the elite that I really want nothing to do with, so it is just as well that they can't see past my lack of pedigree. Those who are truly capable but are also good people are likely to interact with the world I live in on an equivalent basis, and those few I can respect. Point being, I really do not think these elite firms WANT to change or open doors for anyone else. I once helped put on a presentation trying to get a new client. Our firm was THE best out there, period, at what the company needed. Every measure and statistic proved it. But as soon as I saw the profiles of the board members, I knew they were not going to award my firm the job. We still put on a great presentation, but they had only talked to us to make it look like they had covered their bases.

经过一段时间我发现，有一部分精英我根本就不想搭理他们，也幸亏如此他们才没法发现我没有（精英）血统。在平等的基础上，我会和那些真正能干、人又好的（精英）打交道，我也很尊敬他们中的一些人。重点是，我根本不觉得这些精英公司想要做出改变或是对其他人敞开大门。为了争取到一位新客户，我曾去协助举办一场展示会。那时我的公司是那儿最好的，也能满足这个公司的要求，所有的评估数据都能证明这一点。但当我看到对方董事们的个人资料时，我就知道公司是拿不下这份订单了。我们的展示会还是顺利完成了，他们也只是跟我们谈了谈，让我们以为他们已经认真考虑过了。

jimk8mr
9/24/2015 6:43 AM GMT+0800
Also, having a family member in the upper levels of a profession can be a source of guidance and support for a newly hired person. Being able to have a dad (or uncle or grandfather) to explain and bounce ideas off of about how business (or law or medicine or whatever) works is a big advantage over a dad who knows how to drive a truck.

同样地，家里有人是某个行业精英的话，对刚进这行的人来说也是一种资源，既可以得到指导又能得到支持。在商业、律师、医药等行业，有个同行的老爸、叔叔、爷爷在旁答疑解惑，自然比那些只有会开货车的老爸的人有优势得多。

ZoomZeeDoubleOhEm
9/24/2015 9:31 AM GMT+0800
It also helps to be able to send your resume to Dad's and Uncle Bob's colleagues and fraternity brothers.

把简历发给你老爸和Bob叔叔的同事和兄弟会的哥们也很管用的。

Scott H7
9/24/2015 7:52 PM GMT+0800
I think this is a good point, but not just after having been hired, but in navigating the entire process. Not all internships go to connected elite, but if you don't know that they exist (particularly before the internet was as expansive as it is), then you're not going to get one.

我认为这是一个很好的观点，但不仅仅是发生在得到工作后，而是贯穿了这整个过程。不是所有的实习机会最后都落到了精英手上，但如果你连实习生招聘的信息都没法知道的话，那你就肯定错过了这个机会（尤其在以前网络还不是那么发达的时候）。

David Smith
9/24/2015 6:37 AM GMT+0800
I don't find a lot of truth in these arguments. I have taught at Ivy league and State Universities and worked in industry hiring many people. Lots of companies prefer students who worked their way up the hard way. The're more motivated and hard working. Rich kids today are lazy. The days of getting a free ride because you're from the right class are over. People who were born with a silver spoon might fit nicely at a social, but in the doggy dog world of business you need to carry your own weight. Sure there are exceptions, but for the most part working class skills put you in a better position. Join Toastmasters or take a Dale Carnegie Seminar and you learn your social skills.

这些观点没多少是真实的。我在常春藤联盟和州立大学教过书，也曾就职于某个行业雇佣过许多员工。许多公司都对努力工作的学生青睐有加。他们积极上进并努力工作。而有钱人家的孩子就很懒。只要投对胎就能搭便车的时代已经一去不复返了。含着银汤勺出生的孩子在社交方面也许表现得体，但在商业那这个狗咬狗的世界中你就要掂掂自己的分量了。当然凡事都有例外，但在多数情况下工薪阶层的技能会让你有个更好的社会地位。去参加个演讲会或是戴尔•卡内基的研讨会，在那里你能学到一些社交技巧。

LeoMarius
9/24/2015 9:36 AM GMT+0800
He's talking about elite firms, not ones looking for worker bees.
Even though Romney went to BYU, Bain Capital only recruited at Ivies.

他说的是精英公司，而不是去应聘劳动工人的人。
就算罗姆尼去的是杨百翰大学，贝恩资本也只从常春藤联盟招人。
【注：贝恩资本创始人：米特•罗姆尼。1975年获得哈佛大学商学院和法学院工商管理硕士和法学士学位。】

Tightenyourbeltway
9/24/2015 9:37 AM GMT+0800
Simply untrue.

完全错误的。

EmilyAnn1
9/24/2015 11:27 AM GMT+0800
"Work hard" we are an entires action that does no t seem to understand that hard work happens in context. A rich kid works hard at school and extracurriculars with then upper to tutors and parents who smooth their path andfund extracurricular activities . Meanwhile a poor kid works hard at school whiles working at Wendy's to supplement their family's income possibly taking care of younger siblings constantly living with the stress of not to knowing whether their parents might need help with the bills this month. We've decided that one kind of work is worth more.

关于“努力学习”，我们把它当成一个完整的行为，而不会试着从不同角度去理解它。富家子弟在学校努力学习和参加课外活动，然后在导师指导下更上一层楼，有父母给他们铺平道路并资助他们的课外活动。与此同时，穷人家的孩子一边在学校努力学习，一边给温迪快餐打工来补贴家用，有可能还要照顾弟弟妹妹，时不时的承受着生活带来的压力，不知道这个月父母能否把账单结清。我们则认为后一种的（努力学习）更有价值。

Physicsisking
9/24/2015 11:34 AM GMT+0800
A fatuous argument.

一个愚蠢的观点。

Mixed Message
11:10 AM GMT+0800
I'm going to go out on a limb and speculate that someone saying "doggy dog world" didn't actually 'teach at Ivy Leagues'.

让我大胆地推测下，能说出“狗咬狗的世界”这种话的人实际上不可能“在常春藤教过书”。

Sammed
9/24/2015 5:36 AM GMT+0800
Companies want mindless drones to not question their authority. How else could an exec exploit their subordinates and then claim all the work of them (when they succeed of course)? I dealt with this 3 years in corporate finance and you have to be stupid to realize you're being scammed working. Only the biggest of sycophants rise to the top; and not on aptitude which is why I knew I couldn't work in said industry anymore.

公司想要的是混日子的笨蛋，只有这样他们的权威才不会被挑战。否则领导怎么能利用他们的下属并要求他们为他工作呢（当然他们确实成功了）？我做了3年的公司财务，你必须装傻假装你不知道你被忽悠着在工作。当最会拍马屁的爬到了最顶端，凭的并不是才能，我知道我不能再在这行干下去了。