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Roo Marmalade's avatar

Just as a quick reaction - I am a woman and had one pregnancy. I think I get what you are trying to say.. but worth noting that pregnancy had a totally trivial impact on my life compared to HAVING TO LOOK AFTER A BABY (even though I could totally afford childcare). This is the real big deal, and the reason I only had one kid.

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Doctor Hammer's avatar

Regarding the elites who never lose status: I think that, while the market does curtail some of the worse examples of failing upwards, being insulated from the results of your actions is alive and well in big corporations. That seems to be the key: the bigger an organization the less accountable all the members are, particularly in the tangle of management where assigning responsibility and blame is difficult. Government bureaucrats have the benefit of being in a monopoly that takes the money it needs to run, but the size of their organizations might be part of the driving force as well, one shared with the private sector.

(I don't think it is a coincidence that most, if not all, government regulation of businesses tends to drive them towards ever larger organizations.)

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