The self-made man

Psychology Today has an interesting article on the American Dream. The belief in the "self-made man" and the benefits of meritocracy are largely myths and don't serve society well. Movies, TV and newspapers, as well as politicians, are reinforcing these myths by promoting the notion that anyone can be wealthy or make it to the top by virtue of hard work and a positive attitude and that's how successful people did it in the past. Images portrayed by the media try to convince the masses that "you too" can be the next athletic, singing, acting or business star regardless of your background, when the odds are astronomical that it will happen. Self-help gurus help to perpetuate the myths by convincing their clients that anyone can make it to the top with hard work and a few positive affirmations. These naive practices just reinforce and sustain the myth of the self-made man and meritocracy.

Erick Schmidt, CEO of Google says, "Lots of people who are smart and work hard and play by the rules don't have a fraction of what I have. I realize that I don't have my wealth because I'm so brilliant."

Stephen McNamee and Robert Miller of the University of North Caroline in their book, The Meritocracy Myth, cite data which shows that 20% of American households receive 50% of all available income and the lowest 20% of households receive less than 4%; the top 5% of households receive 22% of all available income; the richest 1% of households account for 30% of all available net worth. Despite the popular view that America is a middle class society they say it is not because most wealth is concentrated at the top.
Working hard is often seen as a part of the merit formula. But what is meant by working hard? The number of hours we spend to reach a goal? Energy spent? There is no correlation between hard work and economic success. In fact, those people who work the most hours and spend the most energy are usually the poorest. And really big money doesn't come from working, it comes from owning assets.
Nor is the idea that moral character and integrity are important for economic success. There is little evidence that being honest results in economic success. In fact, the reverse is true, as seen in the examples of Enron, the Wall Street frauds. White collar crime in the form of insider trading, embezzlement, tax and insurance fraud is hardly a reflection of integrity and honesty. Playing by the rules probably works to suppress prospects for economic success, compared to those who ignore the rules.
."...the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success..." -John Steinbeck

The belief in a meritocracy is sustaining a myth that disguises economic inequality.