Forbes top 400

I think it was smart of a group of Jews to put together the list of people who are actually Jews in the top 100 and 400 of America’s wealthiest people. The Jew haters will put their own list together. It is better to have an accurate list to discuss. Nothing will contradict the brain disease that I associate with Jew hate.

There are 43 Jews among the top wealthiest 100 Americans and 149 among the top 400.

What does this tell you? Jews comprise somewhere between 1% and 2% of the American population. Depending on your definition of a Jew.

It tells me the following key items: America is the first society without hereditary classes. That is why Jews have done so well in the free market.

It tells me that the headline of this blog that 'commerce and modernity are based on merit, diversity and openness' is the most appropriate understanding of the success of Jews in America.

The meritocracy that I ascribe to Jews is the merging of ordinary human talent with a love of commerce. That is automatically meritocratic.

Jews are also a very diverse population as evidenced by the melange of people in Israel. Its not just the diversity of the people, it is the fact that they can work together. The coherence of this people, my people, comes from a common and recognized history including a written history. The written history, Torah, acts very much like the American Constitution, as a social glue. Combine Torah and the American Constitution and you get superglue.

Lastly, Jews are notoriously open on the most important issue which is the debate of ideas and issues. Jews have a written history of debate and discussion dating back accurately for 2000 years. This is the most evident form of openness imaginable.

I attribute nothing to heredity.  I also recognize that groups can have distinct attributes and can have higher averages than other groups. I recognize this among the Japanese. Jews and Japanese inherit nothing distinct other than their culture.