Study results suggest genetic influence on social outcomes greater in meritocratic than communistic societies
April 10, 2018 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org report
A team of researchers from the U.K., Australia and the U.S. has found evidence that suggests genetic influence on social outcomes is greater in meritocratic than in communistic societies. In their paper published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the group describes their study of people living in Estonia before and after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the impact it had on social outcomes.
Everyone knows that genetics plays a role in what becomes of people in various societies—hard-driving, smart people, for example, tend to do well in their careers, whereas those born with less intelligence and drive might not fare so well. But what happens when inheritable traits are compared between different types of societies, such as one based on merit versus one based on communism? The researchers with this new effort theorized that genetics would play a more prominent role in meritocratic societies than in communist ones. This is because people living in a society based on merit, who inherit skills that lead to success, likely would have more trouble doing so in a society that places more value on group success. To find out if this might be the case, the researchers looked at educational attainment and occupational status of people living in Estonia raised before and after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Prior to the breakup, the people in that country lived under the heavy hand of Soviet communism—after the breakup, the country gained independence and modeled itself on many countries in the West, and became capitalist.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-results-genetic-social-outcomes-greater.html#jCp
