wrote in message
ups.com...

steve wrote:
Im hoping some of our European friends will comment here. I know the US
is
famous for class mobility, but I was under the impression that class
immobility was a thing of the past even in Europe... especially after the
two world wars shook up the social structure. Bob obviously
disagrees..and
he's been there, which gives him a big advantage over me (a "dumbass", no
doubt).

What do our European friends think? Rigid class structure and social
pressure to stay put? Or is social mobility now the norm?

There is certainly a great degree of social mobility, but not on the
scale found in the US. There are ethnic issues related to this as well.
Nationality is based on ethnicity (despite what folks wish to believe)
which makes integration of "foreigners" difficult. This does not help
the mobility situation. The so-called pro-worker laws that make it hard
to fire people reinforces the old-boy networks where people get jobs
from people they know, or when to some exclusive school with. This of
course happens in the US too, but at least in the US a kid from a
trailer park or the projects who does well in school has a chance of
getting a good job where they can prove their worth. In Europe hiring
"unkowns" like this can be too risky as they can't be fired if they
turn out to be flakes, so people like that have a hard time getting
jobs. This is the real problem with mobility there.

A former in-law of my brother did somewhat well in Germany. He tried to move
to the USA where he believed his business would thrive. The USA wouldn't let
a German immigrate. He moved to Australia and is presently a
multimillionaire. If he could have done that in Germany he'd have stayed.