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In Praise of Nepotism: A Natural History, by Adam Bellow
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Certain to be one of the most controversial books of the year, In Praise of Nepotism is a learned, lively, and provocative look at a practice we all deplore — except when we’re involved in it ourselves.
Nepotism, the favored treatment of one’s relatives, is a custom with infinitely more practitioners than defenders — especially in this country, where it is considered antidemocratic and almost un-American. Nepotism offends our sense of fair play and our meritocratic creed that we are supposed to earn what we get — not have it handed to us on a proverbial silver platter. For more than two centuries, a campaign has been waged against it in the name of fairness and equality in the courts, the legislatures, and in the public and private arenas — a campaign that has been only partly successful. For, far from disappearing, the practice has become so resurgent in recent years that we can now speak of a “new nepotism.” In settings ranging from politics, business, and professional life to sports, the arts, and Hollywood, the children of famous and highly successful people have chosen to follow in their parents’ career footsteps in a fashion and in numbers impossible to ignore. George W. Bush, Al Gore, Jr., and Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are only the tip of the iceberg that is an accelerating trend toward dynasticism and family “branding” in the heart of the American elite. Many see this as a deplorable development, to which Adam Bellow replies, Not so fast.
In this timely work (surprisingly, the first book ever devoted to nepotism), Adam Bellow brings fresh perspectives and vast learning and research to bear on this misunderstood and stigmatized practice. Drawing on the insights of modern evolutionary theory, he shows how nepotism is rooted in our very biological nature, as the glue that binds together not only insect and animal societies but, for most of the world and for most of history, human societies as well. Drawing on the disciplines of biology, anthropology, history, and social and political theory, Bellow surveys the natural history of nepotism from its evolutionary origins to its practice in primitive tribes, clans, and kingdoms to its role in the great societies of the world. These include the ancient Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and the democratic and capitalistic societies of the past two centuries, with extended consideration of the American experience. Along the way, he provides fascinating (and freshly considered) portraits of such famous and/or infamous figures as Abraham, Pericles, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Benjamin Franklin, and such families as the Borgias, the Rothschilds, the Adamses, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, and the Bushes.
In his final chapter, Bellow argues that nepotism comes down to the bonds between children and parents, the transmission of family legacies, the cycle of generosity and gratitude that knits our whole society together. And since it is not going away anytime soon, he makes the case for dealing with nepotism openly and treating it as an art that can be practiced well or badly. In Praise of Nepotism is a book that will ruffle feathers, create controversy, and open and change minds.
- Sales Rank: #2266315 in Books
- Published on: 2003-07-15
- Released on: 2003-07-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.56" h x 1.43" w x 6.44" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 576 pages
From Publishers Weekly
George Orwell once wrote, "To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others." This logic is at the heart of Bellow's conception of nepotism, which he means to rescue from the near-universal scorn it suffers today. Son of Nobel-winning novelist Saul, now an editor-at-large at Doubleday, Bellow seeks to redefine nepotism not as a "deplorable lack of public spirit" but as the very "bedrock of social existence"-a natural, healthy concern for family and, by extension, those ethnically or otherwise similar to ourselves. This is no brittle screed, as the title might imply, but rather a impressively full-blooded and wide-ranging work of scholarship, demonstrating that the individualistic U.S. is quite exceptional in its rejection of nepotism. Bellow assimilates biology, theology and gargantuan chunks of human history with brio, never losing the thread of his argument or the attention of his audience. Since nepotism is about power, the book has an unavoidable top-down orientation, as it is almost exclusively about the ruling class throughout history, from Borgia and Bonaparte to our own Adams, Roosevelt and Kennedy clans. Since nepotism is synonymous with familial interest, it is hardly surprising that Bellow is able to find ample evidence of its existence throughout history-even in "egalitarian" America. At times he casts such a wide net that he risks blurring nepotism with the entirety of human history. However, his analysis of the flexibility and complexity of nepotism's forms is utterly enthralling and stimulating.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
"It's not what you know, it's who you know." At one time your name alone could guarantee you admission to a prestigious university, a cushy job, and lifetime security. The practice of nepotism, universally abhorred but also universally practiced and accepted as "the way things are," has made a comeback. Today it is evident in politics, with the return of the political dynasty (obvious in the 2000 Bush-Gore election), and in Hollywood, where a new rash of thespian offspring are making inroads in the film industry. This in-depth look at nepotism and all its implications takes a very broad approach, arguing that nepotism is a basic instinct rooted in the social biology of animals and humans, and that it may be a necessary and even positive force in evolution. Bellow examines the phenomenon throughout history, from tribal societies through ancient Greece and Rome and early Christianity, to today's New Nepotism that pervades politics, business, the arts, and sports. Bellow himself is an example, being the son of novelist Saul Bellow. He unearths the rich history of the practice, which alone is worth the read. David Siegfried
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“Nepotism is widely condemned yet even more widely practiced. Adam Bellow shows why this is so, and he makes a fascinating and well-researched argument that this is not necessarily a bad thing.”
-Walter Isaacson, author of Kissinger: A Life and former chairman of CNN and managing editor of Time
“Some features of human nature, like aggression and adultery, get a consistently bad press but remain stubbornly persistent. Nepotism, likewise, is universally condemned but seems just as ineradicable. Adam Bellow explains to us why we are so addicted to what we so deplore, and does so in plain English with convincing scholarship. He brings together biology and history in a way that is intelligible to the general reader and challenging to the discipline-bound professional. Nepotism has never looked so good.”
-Robin Fox, professor of anthropology, Rutgers University, and author of Kinship and Marriage and Encounter With Anthropology
“I read In Praise of Nepotism straight through in about a day and a half. It is a most engaging text, exceedingly well written, concise, lucid, with marvelous descriptions and characterizations. It is also the first time I have read such an angle on history. Adam Bellow is almost alone in relating the family to politics, to power and affairs of state. This is the book’s originality, and it makes for a fresh contribution to the study of history.”
- John Patrick Diggins, Distinguished Professor of History, Graduate Center, The City University of New York
“Nepotism, like sex, is a powerful human motive that many people are too squeamish to examine. Adam Bellow has made an important contribution to our understanding of the human condition with this sparkling and eye-opening natural history of an underappreciated but eternally fascinating topic.”
- Steven Pinker, Peter de Florez Professor, MIT, and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works
“Adam Bellow is like the best teacher you ever had. You are awed by his range and erudition, and you are carried along by the page-turning drama he makes of ideas and history.� To see nepotism as a natural human impulse, a force in the advancement of civilization, and an enemy and friend of democracy and free markets was all a revelation.� And Bellow's description of a benevolent and inclusive nepotism is a strikingly original idea that will make this book a landmark.”
— Shelby Steele
Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
America's love/hate relationship with nepotism
By Mark Howells
The historical sections which make up the bulk of the book are very good. The author does a fine job of describing the biological imperatives of nepotism, classical nepotism, colonial nepotism, etc. Those chapters detailing the successes and failures of different practitioners of nepotism through the ages are fascinating to read.
The specifically American version of modern nepotism is described by Bellow as being forgiving toward nepotism for providing entr�e into social, employment and power positions so long as the beneficiary subsequently proves themselves by merit. Family fumblers are appropriately punished in the author's view and family dynasties which fail the individual/generational meritocracy test do indeed go "from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations".
The conclusion seemed like a cheap eraser jammed onto the end of an expensive mechanical pencil. It appears to have been cobbled together in a hurry and does not read like carefully reasoned inferences drawn from the historical sections of the book. The conclusion provides prescriptive attitudes regarding nepotism in modern society and this is by far the weakest part of the book.
The irony of writing about nepotism as the son of a famous author is not lost on Bellow. This book will be a boon to nephew-hiring dynasts everywhere.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Great read but the conclusion is not morally right
By L. Sun
I enjoy reading the book. The author writes in an engaging way and has a good grasp of the biological foundation of nepotism. The definition of nepotism can be slightly confusing. Nepotism in a broad sense refers to favoritism for relatives (genetic AND marital) and can be narrowly defined as favoritism for genetic relatives. The author, however, expands nepotism to refer to favoritism for non-relative friends as well, which is normally used and interpreted under a very different scenario (reciprocal altruism). So, one has to pay attention to the author's broadened definition.
I understand that it's part of human nature that most of us would do favors to our relatives. So, as the author cogently argues, the complete elimination of nepotism would result in a world without humanness. The author tries to find a fine line between "good" nepotism and "bad" nepotism, but readers are left wondering where the demarcation is. In fact, this is not a solution at all because, as long as nepotism is allowed, it will be abused, as history has shown repeatedly. Nepotism in the government is particularly damaging to a democratic society, because, practically, it diverges taxpayers' money to serving the relatives and cronies of people in power, and, morally, it sustains the injustice that people are born unequal. Hence, nepotism is exactly the evil we want to fight against in the government. Some would argue that nepotism, if used appropriately, would promote loyalty, trust, and thus working efficiency. This is a wrong argument. A democratic government is built for fairness; it is not meant for efficiency. Military systems are built for efficiency, but never has there any that is democratic. Even if there are "successful" cases of governmental nepotism in the US history, as the author highlights in the book, one may wonder whether there were nobody else in the nation who could have done an equally good or even better job when given the opportunties to serve.
Although nepotism may be allowable or even desirable in other situations for weaving together a harmonious family or society, it should nevertheless be absolutely avoided in the government. To do so, there are two solutions I can think of. One is to introduce an explicit policy for government officials to avoid nepotism as the US government has been doing, and the other is to establish a punitive system that can hold those who egregiously promote their own relatives or friends accountable for any bad consequence of their nepotism. The removal of nepotism will make our government one step closer toward the ideal of a government of, for, and by the people. The removal of nepotism in the government will also promote justice to advance our society to be truly meritocratic.
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
The B.S. of Silver Spoonery
By By Mark Braun
Bellow's book is a fascinating read; partially because the subject is infuriatingly destructive to any business and partially because Bellow managed to trade on his father's name to get it published. It doesn't mean that I respect Jaimie Wyath or Arlo Guthrie any less -they've cut their own paths successfully with skill and self-reliance.
Listen: Nepotism is handing the reigns to family, buddies and cronies. Integrity is when nepotism gets avoided, which is what you may want to do here, unless you need a reason to boil over.
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