Note: It's astonishing in this age of plague and turmoil that my Trotskyist friends write nothing that interests me. So I offer this piece instead, which is mostly fiction based on a shred of reality.
My neighborhood is very diverse. Of the 150 odd homes in the subdivision, perhaps 50 are occupied by white Americans. The rest are from all over the world. There are at least a half dozen Filipino families, probably similar numbers of Chinese and Koreans, and a smattering of South Asians.
But by far the largest demographic are folks from the West Indies and West Africa. Not all are new immigrants--I think many are second generation. But I believe the African-American population--narrowly defined as descendants of slaves brought here during colonial times--is small. One of my occasional walking buddies--I walk around the neighborhood every day--is from The Gambia. Indeed, he has several friends (perhaps relatives) living here--there are at least three houses full of Gambians. Other neighbors--acquaintances from work--are from Jamaica. I often hear Jamaican brogues while wandering around.
Occasionally I see a truly elegant couple on the street. I've never spoken to them and I don't know which house they live in. I'm pretty sure--from appearance--that they're from West Africa, of which Nigeria is the most populous country. Searching the web for common Nigerian names, I'll name the standout pair Musa and Aisha.
Musa is very tall--at least 6'5"--a full head taller than me. He's very athletic--I see him holding impromptu fitness classes on the street for neighbors. Not one to smile often, he has a proudly erect, regal bearing. Clean-shaven, he looks to be in his early 40s.
Aisha is not as tall, nor as slender, but still taller than I am--perhaps 6'. She's incredibly beautiful--buxom and full-bodied, but not at all fat. Rather, she's pure muscle--very strong and just as much in to fitness as her husband. I typically see her clad in skin-tight sweats--and it flatters. Perfect posture, proportions, features.
If people with straight backs ruled the world, Musa and Aisha would be king and queen. I'm quite intimidated by them--which is why I haven't introduced myself.
I don't know if Musa and Aisha have any children--but it would be a damn shame if they didn't. Let's award them two, and name them Prince and Princess--just to keep the genders straight. Perhaps grandma tends to them during their parents' walks.
Musa and Aisha clearly got some good genes. (Nobody in my family ever grew to 6'5", and we're definitely not known for athleticism.) That said, the pair have made the most of their endowment. Had they chosen instead a diet of french fries and ice cream coupled with a couch-potato lifestyle, perhaps Musa would still be over six feet tall. But he'd have a slouch and a pot-belly, and nobody would take him seriously as a fitness instructor. Aisha, rather than strong, would just be fat. She'd look like a pig.
These people work hard. They know they have a gift, and they haven't squandered it. In addition to physique, they're endowed with self-discipline.
Houses in my neighborhood sell for about $300K. That's well below the median cost of housing in the New York City metro region, but then we're a 90 minute commute to Manhattan. (Pre-Covid, my Gambian friend made that trip every day. Now he gets to work from home.) On the other hand, our neighborhood is more expensive than the surrounding town--partly because the houses are newer, and also because of our superb location.
So poor people don't live here. And neither do aristocrats.
To live here, Musa and Aisha need middle class jobs. Perhaps, like my Gambian friend, they work on Wall Street. To get such work they must have some education--whether learned in Nigeria or here, they have a marketable skill. For which self-discipline certainly helps, but there has to be some level of smarts besides.
I think they're relatively new to the neighborhood--I've seen them around only recently. Likely they've skimped and saved to put together the down payment. As immigrants they needed to establish a credit rating from scratch. All of which is evidence of self-discipline, smarts, and a serious work ethic.
Now imagine the lives of Prince and Princess. Children get their genes from mom and dad, and it's hard to see how this pair goes wrong either way. Something bad could've happened--birth defect, disease, accident--but most likely the kids will be like their parents: tall, dark, and exceedingly handsome. With luck the children will inherit the self-discipline trait--but even if not, they'll be taught it from an early age. I doubt slouching is tolerated in the Musa/Aishi household!
The schools around here aren't very good, but I'm not worried for Prince or Princess. Mama will certainly teach them how to read, and daddy will school them in arithmetic. Many other things they'll pick up on their own. What they'll learn from school will not be taught by teachers, but rather by their classmates. They'll learn how to earn the respect of their peers. It will be a class in Aristocrat 101.
Prince and Princess will have more advantages. Instead of growing up relatively poor in Nigeria, they'll come of age in middle class America, with all the opportunities that offers. And not being slouches they'll take advantage of them. They'll probably go to college (or whatever replaces college), and they'll likely inherit some money. If nothing else, Musa and Aisha will have paid off the house for them.
Will Prince or Princess become true aristocrats? Probably not yet. Likely it will take another generation of wealth-building before that status is reached. If they marry well--not necessarily into other Nigerian families, though that's certainly a good option--Musa and Aishi's grandchildren may well aspire to the aristocracy. By which I mean they will have the wealth, authority and wisdom to decide the fates of others.
Fortunately, America does not have a formal, hereditary aristocracy, complete with titles. But we do have aristocratic families, e.g.,
[Kenneth] Arrow was a brother to the economist Anita Summers, uncle to economist and former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers, and brother-in-law of the late economists Robert Summers and Paul Samuelson. In 1947, he married Selma Schweitzer, graduate in economics at the University of Chicago and psychotherapist, who died in 2015. (Wikipedia)
Unlike in bygone eras, the path to aristocracy includes more than just military talent. Today one can be a family of academics, artists, businessmen, politicians, sports stars, etc. Whatever the field, the talents required to be a leader of men and women are in significant part hereditary, which is why aristocratic rank follows from parents to children.
And so here we are. In Trump's America, a family of West African immigrants are founding a new aristocratic dynasty.
My story is mostly fiction. But I hope it's true.
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