Failsons, Remittance Men and Nepo Babies: A History of Inherited Privilege Without Inherited Talent

This course traces history's long, entertaining pattern of privilege without competence. We begin in antiquity with Commodus, whose reign squandered father Marcus Aurelius's legacy for gladiatorial spectacle, and move through medieval England's Richard II, deposed for incompetence that undid Edward III's hard-won gains. In the 19th century, we examine Britain's "remittance men"—wayward aristocratic sons shipped off to the colonies to save the family name. We close with contemporary nepo babies, from business empires to political dynasties like the Kennedys, asking whether inherited privilege has changed at all.