[jacoblyles]

I blame politics. A lot of young people are emotionally invested in the idea that "the System" is responsible for some people being poor and others being rich. If you acknowledge that some choices are good and others are bad, it challenges the view that wealth is predetermined and that income inequality is caused by fate/bias.

[Klinky]

I don't think blaming it all on good choices/bad choices is any more reasonable than blaming it entirely on "The System". They both play a role in where someone will end up.

[paulhauggis]

"I don't think blaming it all on good choices/bad choices is any more reasonable than blaming it entirely on "The System". They both play a role in where someone will end up"

I suppose. However, the system will never make you rich. Your good choices will. People tend to put too much blame on "The system" and nobody wants to take personal responsibility.

[Klinky]

Again you're using absolutes. Just because someone complains that "The System" is unfair does not mean they are sitting on their butt doing nothing about it or their current situation. Venting is a common trait & for some it is completely justified.

Even making "good choices" your entire life things may still go the wrong way. Sometimes this is life, sometimes this is "The System". Sometimes "bad choices" make you rich as well(drug dealer, ponzi scheme).

[nooneelse]

> "However, the system will never make you rich."

Never? What about inheritance and social/family connections into lucrative jobs and investment opportunities? Those parts of 'the system' seem like they contribute the major part to some people's success and wealth. I suppose one could say something like "well, the person made the good choice to take the inheritance or opportunity on the silver platter before them". But that would seem to make the term "good choices" a bit vacuous, imho, as an account of what a person should do to become rich.

[jacoblyles]

Yep! I completely agree. Making good choices is an (often) necessary but not sufficient condition for success. The rules of the universe are fuzzy and inexact!

But if you spend a lot of time arguing that fate/bias determines a person's life, you are going to be less likely to invest the effort in making those good choices. Optimism and pessimism can infect a culture or an age. Lots more things are possible in ages of cultural optimism, it's self-reinforcing! We're definitely entering an age of pessimism.

[Klinky]

Lots of bad things can happen due to people being overly optimistic. In fact a lot of business blunders have been because people were all smiles while the ship sank. How about the housing crisis? "House prices will always go up!", "I will always make enough to pay off the mortgage I took out", "These securities will make your retirement portfolio/investment firm a lot of money!". You could also point to almost any financial scandal out there and find a bunch of overly optimistic sheep burying their head in the sand or being lead to slaughter. Those sheep who went astray were chastised or booted out.

Pessimism can breed anger and resentment which can eventually lead to changes/revolution. This can be a good or bad thing.

It's a balancing act really, but no one should chuck reality out the window so they can feel overly optimistic or overly pessimistic. That can be a struggle sometimes, depending on your life experiences, the current cultural climate and how much control you feel over your future.