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In this week's news, the top 8 richest individuals in the world have a combined net worth greater than the bottom half of the world's population combined. Its now quite obvious that the gap between have's and have not's is greater than it ever was in human history and its still growing wider. This coincides with globalization and the American Dream which has now been embraced by the entire world. Yet it seems to me that the American Dream which basically says that if you work hard then you will succeed is a farce.
There is this notion perpetuated by the rich which now the middle class embraces and even some of the poor believe, which is that anyone can "make it" if they try hard enough. The ultra rich tries to convince us that they deserve all their wealth and that poor people are poor because they are either stupid or lazy. They paint a picture of the poor as welfare bums but that truth is that poor people work very hard yet are held back by systematic disadvantages. On the other hand, the wealthy usually got to where they are through inheritance, screwing the little people, or just sheer luck. Rags to riches stories are uplifting to hear but they are exceptions to the rule.
For most of us, hard work will move us ahead in life, but it seems that luck plays a bigger factor in determining success than effort.
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