Re:Brain Drain Within the EU?
by everybodyknows on Sunday September 23, 2018 @01:30PM
(#18052106)
History shows two ways cultures change for the better: Top-down, by force; Bottom-up, by social pressure.
Top-down:
- U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction
- U.S. Civil Rights Act, enforced by National Guard troops
Bottom-up:
- women's suffrage protest movements of early 20th century
- educational reformist movements e.g. U.S. 19th century
- religious heresies -- Lutheranism
The weakness of "top-down" is that the dysfunction re-emerges when the top-down force is relieved -- if the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction had fully succeeded, the National Guard would have had no need to walk the streets of Alabama with rifles in hand.
The weakness of "bottom-up" is that lasting, visible improvement takes years, and is therefore uninteresting to politicians chiefly looking to get re-elected, say, next month.
Top-down:
- U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction
- U.S. Civil Rights Act, enforced by National Guard troops
Bottom-up:
- women's suffrage protest movements of early 20th century
- educational reformist movements e.g. U.S. 19th century
- religious heresies -- Lutheranism
The weakness of "top-down" is that the dysfunction re-emerges when the top-down force is relieved -- if the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction had fully succeeded, the National Guard would have had no need to walk the streets of Alabama with rifles in hand.
The weakness of "bottom-up" is that lasting, visible improvement takes years, and is therefore uninteresting to politicians chiefly looking to get re-elected, say, next month.