“Only In America” Alive in Mexico

Briefly, social mobility is the movement of individuals between economic strata in a society.

Low social mobility indicates that a child is likely to become an adult in the same economic circumstances as their parents. High social mobility indicates that a child is more likely to become an adult in a different economic circumstance than their parents.

My father completed schooling at grade six and never earned more than minimum wage. He expected that my outcome would be better. He was correct; I have three university degrees and own homes in two countries.

In contrast, a friend said that when he was a child in England, working-class children expected to die as working-class adults. It never entered his mind that he could become affluent. (As it turns out, he moved to Canada and is better off than me.)

In the 18th century and most of the 19th centuries, American Blacks had zero social mobility. They were born in slavery and died in slavery.

Social mobility doesn’t always mean moving up. It just means moving to a different strata. From my limited understanding, I believe that much of the social and political foment in the USA is related to non-college educated White males experiencing downward social mobility and often attributing that to the upward social mobility of people if color and women.