Persistance through transformation

The concept of "persistance through transformation" jumped out at me during the reading, and as I continued reading, I felt the need to return and reread. 

"Persistance through transformation."

Luker introduces this concept with a story about political preasures created by black nationalist demanding  African managers and directors in the country's copper mines.  The concessions resulted in the positions themselves loosing power, i.e. "the elevation of such workers to positions of power and authority was parallelled by a set of processes which stripped power and authority from these positions, now newly filled with Africans." Luker explains, it's "the idea that when a system is disrupted, it will tend to reconstitute itself in ways that recreate previous positions of power."

Not only have I experienced this 'persistance through transformation" with my own career, but I know several others who would be able to identify.  What is it that causes us to recreate patterns and behaviors that support ideologies and social and political structures that don't seem to support us?

-Mandissa Arlain

Reference

Luker, K. (2010). Salsa Dancing into the social sciences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.