[niemandhier]

Britain was a very repressed culture at the time and for a long time after this.

An Englishman’s proverbial “stiff upper lip” came to be a cliche for a reason.

“Boarding school syndrome” would be the term coined for the emotional damage that was an educational ideal for a long while.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_school#Psychological_...

[mosura]

Yet the UK was most successful when led by people from that system.

[amanaplanacanal]

Only if you think a large empire is the epitome of success.

People have a tendency to look at the cruelest warriors of history and think that is success. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar or Napoleon are not something to emulate. They were successful by causing horrific pain to a lot of people.

[FridayoLeary]

Success and greatness of historical figures do not mean they were moral heroes although people would like you to believe otherwise. King Example XIV of the 15th century might have been a really good guy but he never did anything so nobody knows or cares about him. His half brother and uncle killed him and invaded and subjugated 6 neighbouring states but was less bad then everyone else at the time so he's great and successful instead of a villain. I don't think there are rules, but i think anyone who generally advances progress instead of reversing it is considered great. Genghis Khan as far as i know didn't so he isn't. Julius Caesar did so he is.

[mosura]

Pure misandrist nonsense. You could have picked Hitler or Stalin to at least have half a point.

Napoleon spread enlightenment values that benefitted generations that came after. Julius Caesar took civilization across a continent. Deng Xiaoping was leader during Tianenmen Square but brought more people out of poverty than anyone else in history.

Being great means being able to do some things others do not like because the resulting upside is better for everyone.

[amanaplanacanal]

Sounds to me more like the winners writing the history. In other words, bullshit.

[mosura]

Napoleon or Julius Caesar won?

One was exiled, the other assassinated. They were in no position to write history.

[FridayoLeary]

Was?

The old boys network and class still plays a big role in UK politics. I'm convinced that the behaviour of Boris Johnson and even Starmer is incomprehensible without that unspoken element.

Is it a bad thing? perhaps. Is it a recipe for disaster? I would say the historical evidence is pretty clear that no, not really. It worth pointing out that the US where class is much less important is more successful.

In my head Holmes is descended from minor nobility while Watson is solidly upper middle class.

Now, Labours envy based attacks on the private schools that gave them all their advantages in life helps nobody. It won't matter to rich kids and is just a barrier to success for middle class kids. When you consider the quality of state education, at least there should be some educated people to run the country, even if it's a bad system.

Ot but hogwarts is a great parody of the British boarding school system. A drafty, dangerous castle full of dangerous animals, homicidal, abusive and incompetent teachers, serious injuries are a fact of life and complacent staff. Add in the most incompetent and negligent headmaster in all literature, who hardly does anything throughout the series and thinks that soul sucking demons are an acceptable security measure to protect his students and runs the school as his personal domain. Throw in class based bullying in the student body and you have everything. I always found it striking that the most hatable character in the series is a school inspector (Umbridge).

[mosura]

Starmer or Reeves boarded?

The boarding is the point.

[FridayoLeary]

I reject that. It's the network that's more important. I always found the concept of boarding school odd but that's neither here nor there.

[mosura]

No the whole experience makes or breaks people, which is the idea.

It is like failing fast for people. It looks cruel but in the long run is more honest.

That is not to say the networks from exclusive day schools do not help, they do.

[zozbot234]

It's actually a terrible idea. You're giving the people who "fail fast" no real incentives to fix themselves up and try again, and the people who "succeed" no incentives to do even better in the future. Even aside from how cruel it obviously looks, it's really a recipe for pervasive incompetence and a failed society.