Social Anthropologist Ernest Gellner invented the term "the Tyranny of Cousins" to describe early tribal societies formed through familial clans. However, the phrase could also be used to describe a common feature of life among Third World peoples.
When a black athlete hits the big money by going pro, you'll notice how he develops an entourage or a "posse" that surround him wherever he goes. This group of hangers-on -- many of whom are family members -- have leeched onto the pro as a patron. Often these pros feed and house an array of leeches out of their salaries.
The phenomenon is common in the Third World where those who work hard to make something of themselves are swarmed by the demands of leeching family members who end up pulling the gravy train all the way down with them.
A South African friend of my brother saw this happen over and over and related one particular case of a doctor who worked in a research lab. The doctor supported several family members on his modest salary out of a sense of obligation. This, the South African claimed, was one reason why the Third World remained so backward. When one member manages to pull himself above the maw of a backward society, his "oblgations" end up dragging him back down into the morass by depleting him of capital. A society that squanders its capital is cursed to be poor and backward.
I have nothing against kin helping kin, the problem lies in the method of help. If you are helping to pay some counsin's way through school so he can get a good job and prosper, that's one thing, but if all you are doing is acting as a private welfare bucket for leeches, you're helping no one. Edited by: Bronk
When a black athlete hits the big money by going pro, you'll notice how he develops an entourage or a "posse" that surround him wherever he goes. This group of hangers-on -- many of whom are family members -- have leeched onto the pro as a patron. Often these pros feed and house an array of leeches out of their salaries.
The phenomenon is common in the Third World where those who work hard to make something of themselves are swarmed by the demands of leeching family members who end up pulling the gravy train all the way down with them.
A South African friend of my brother saw this happen over and over and related one particular case of a doctor who worked in a research lab. The doctor supported several family members on his modest salary out of a sense of obligation. This, the South African claimed, was one reason why the Third World remained so backward. When one member manages to pull himself above the maw of a backward society, his "oblgations" end up dragging him back down into the morass by depleting him of capital. A society that squanders its capital is cursed to be poor and backward.
I have nothing against kin helping kin, the problem lies in the method of help. If you are helping to pay some counsin's way through school so he can get a good job and prosper, that's one thing, but if all you are doing is acting as a private welfare bucket for leeches, you're helping no one. Edited by: Bronk
