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by cmrdporcupine 1975 days ago
It's also highly cultural; if the people around you that you see as role models are serious about business, connections, management, etc. that's what you pursue. And higher management comes more naturally to people who have spent their childhood in an ethical framework that divides people into manageable units, too.

My working class / middle class parents just didn't have room in their worldview for having employees, nor would they feel comfortable delegating their household aspects to maids and the like. When we had kids my wife and I couldn't imagine having a nanny (despite being able to afford it) while many of those around us didn't blink at it.

I remember working at a startup in the 00s and having to peel out of the office every day at 5:30 to get my daughter from daycare and my (silver spoon raised) boss saying something like "we need to pitch into get you a nanny" and it struck me then how that kind of thing was really tied to "entrepreneurship." I didn't _want_ a nanny, I liked my daughter's daycare, and I very much enjoyed picking her up and getting my hug at the end of her day of play and learning with a group of kids.

Connections, money, yes, but also a managerial/directive ethic, no qualms about telling other people what to do and paying as little as possible for it.

1 comments

Wow, I just made this exact same point. You and I must have similar experiences.