Large historical genealogies show social status correlations decay very slowly across family trees; Clark argues this pattern can be explained if spouses assort strongly (≈0.57 correlation) on a latent, partially heritable status trait, meaning status persists not just through wealth or institutions but through intergenerational genetic/assortative mechanisms.
— If true, the claim reframes debates about mobility, education policy, and inequality by shifting some causal weight from institutions and opportunity to long‑run family inheritance amplified by extreme mate matching.
Isegoria
2026.11.03
100% relevant
Gregory Clark’s PDF release relying on centuries of English genealogy and the reported sibling/cousin housing‑value correlations (siblings ~0.33, cousins ~0.21) and his Fisher‑based calculation that spouse correlation must be ~0.57.
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