The Late, Great American WASP
The Late, Great American WASP
The old U.S. ruling class had plenty of problems, ut are we really better off with a country run by the self-involved, over-schooled products of modern meritocracy?
By Joseph Epstein, Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2013
Image by Thomas Fuchs
The U.S. once had an unofficial but nonetheless genuine ruling class, drawn from what came to be known as the WASP establishment. Members of this establishment dominated politics, economics and education, but they do so no longer. The WASPocracy, as I think of it, lost its confidence and, with it, the power and interest to lead. We are now without a ruling class, unless one includes the entity that has come to be known as the meritocracypresumably an aristocracy of sheer intelligence, men and women trained in the nation's most prestigious schools.
The acronym WASP derives, of course, from White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, but as acronyms go, this one is more deficient than most. Lots of people, including powerful figures and some presidents, have been white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant but were far from being WASPs. Neither Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton qualified.
WASPs were a caste, closed off to all not born within it, with the possible exception of those who crashed the barriers by marrying in. WASP credentials came with lineage, and lineagethat is, proper birthautomatically brought connections to the right institutions. Yale, Princeton and Harvard were the great WASP universities, backed up by Choate, Groton, Andover, Exeter and other prep schools. WASPs tended to live in exclusive neighborhoods: on upper Park and Fifth Avenues in New York, on the Main Line in Philadelphia, the Back Bay in Boston, Lake Forest and Winnetka in Chicago .
WASP life, though, was chiefly found on the eastern seaboard. WASPs had their own social clubs and did business with a small number of select investment and legal firms, such as Brown Brothers Harriman and Sullivan & Cromwell. Many lived on inherited money, soundly invested.
The State Department was once dominated by WASPs, and so, too, was the Supreme Court, with one seat traditionally left unoccupied for a Jewish jurist of proper mien. The House of Representatives was never preponderantly WASP, though a number of prominent senators Henry Cabot Lodge and Leverett A. Saltonstall, both of Massachusetts, come to mindhave been WASPs. Looking down on the crudities of quotidian American politics, Henry Adams, a WASP to the highest power, called the dealings of Congress, the horse-trading and corruption and the rest of it, "the dance of democracy." In one of his short stories, Henry James has characters modeled on Adams and his wife Clover, planning a social evening, say, "Let us be vulgar and have some funlet us invite the President."
Click this link to read the rest of this long but interesting essay:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304367204579268301043949952
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When I was in my teens I had a friend who lived in an enormous home, whose father had a number of grocery stores. Although they were Jewish, they did not usually mix with the "common" Jews but considered themselves to be above them, vying to be part of the more elite WASP residents of the city near Toronto, Canada, in which I grew up. I don't know why I was considered to be "acceptable" by them, but so be it. He was perhaps the only person in my city to be sent to Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts and later I lost all track of him. At the time I couldn't understand the significance of his going to Andover, but eventually came to realize it was their urge to become as WASP as possible. What did it gain them? I have no idea.
Well, I can say without a second thought, that I do not, in anyway, qualify as a WASP...For many reasons.
What does come to mind are the ''Robber Barons'', and the elite class that they established. So, it seems in the articles line or reasoning that the era of the WASP is at an end. Elite WASP wearing Cowboy boots, or being an actor, or from Independence MO...Oh, heavens, the very thought of that is upsetting.
A graduate of UCLA or Oregon State, perish the thought. He/she could never be allowed in the hallowed halls of Harvard for post Graduate work...Old money, or new money, that is the yard stick.
Do I have to add the /s tag?
The only WASP I'm familiar with lived in the shrubbery and in the eaves under the roof of buildings and they looked like this:
I think most of it was just snob appeal. being parg of n "elite" in group who felt that they were better than everyone else. I've known a few...
In practical terms, at least in the past, it gained access to situations where one could relatively easily make money (lawfirms,wall st firms, etc). That still happens, but a bit less now a days.
But mainly IMO it was just a way of being able to feel that they were better than everyone else. (Strange as that seems, there are a lot of people for whom that feeling is very important).
Andees and Exees (Graduates of Andover and Exeter..also there's Choate...big status symbol in some groups..I've known quite a few (from college) but of course was never fully accepted as part of their "aristocracy"...not that I cared).
Some sort of self-proclaimed "elite" probably exists in most (all?) cultures-- yes, even under Communism. But the people who were the real masters at creating a class system and aristocracy were the Brits (in fact most true American WASPs truly revere their example).
There's a great Monty Python episode on country aristocracy, but I can't seem to find it.
Yes-- that's the one!
Thanks
Very funny satire-- but I think these types were real...quintessential WASPS!
You're welcome Krish. I wasn't sure if it was, but seemed to be the most appropriate, so I glad to have found it.
Love the video Six...
Is that where the Romans got their idea on how to build roads ?
I don't know if it was for roads, but it sure as hell was the idea for the catacombs.
I was referring to the design of Roman roads employing hexagonal flagstones for paving :
Oh, okay Petey, I see what you mean. I think the beehive shaped catacomb photo showed a pretty good copy of the wasp nest too. It's interesting about how many things we learn from seeing the creations of nature - could make a good article.
Nature can be a bountiful teacher for those who are willing to study her ways ...
When I was in grade school I was taught about how the Romans employed hexagonal paving tiles for their roads . I was mystified about why they would not use the far simpler to make square tiles . But now I think I've got it figured out ... after all these years .
I'm sure they weren't ... but it doesn't matter . I'm obsessed .
They weren't, but what the hell, it's an interesting tangential discussion. (I don't thing 'tangential' is a word, but then you must know what I mean.)
It would appear that the mindless thread hi-jackers are here in force. Not surprising; The usual suspects.
Within the Anglosphere, the term WASP has lost its prominence. It entered my lexicon after seeing it used to describe teabaggers. However, demographically, the WASP term was originally a New England phrase and the TPers have branched across the US.
I use WASP sans the "anglo-saxon" to describe "white protestants" all inclusively.
AeonPax you can run your threads however you want - it's a free country isn't it? But I would appreciate it if you didn't vomit your snark on mine. I do as I choose, and if I welcome diversion from time to time it's my business. When my friends come up with UNSNARKY comments that are of interest to me and do not intentionally derail my threads then it's not YOUR business to be critical of them. So if you're unhappy with how I run my show, then as far as I am concerned you can stay the hell off of my threads.
But doing that makes the term lose its "sting" ...
You should be looking at the historical Roman army admiration for this fighting insect [my guess] .