Just like all the other ‘isms,’ capitalism relies on some form of indoctrination to survive. We are taught from a very young age about the rewards of succeeding at school, working at a steady job, buying plenty of stuff, eating processed foods and just believing that life is a competition to amass as much wealth as possible.
As long as the theoretical possibility of starting from scratch to make one’s own fortune exists, the idea is that people will continue to work hard and chase it, despite the increasingly vanishing odds.
To keep the dream alive we need role models, and in our times these are often people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos.
These ‘self-made’ billionaires are often venerated for their humble beginnings, spawning their business empires from a garage with a virtuous combination of technical brilliance, business acumen and absolute dedication to their work. If these guys can do it, anyone can! What’s your excuse?
Happily, more and more people are coming to the realization that the current form of neoliberal capitalism is unsustainable not just to the vast majority of people, but for the Earth itself. Things have to change, so why not start by busting the myth that we are all potential millionaires, if only we worked harder at it?
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Our wealth is our shared humanity and our beautiful planet, we don’t need to become millionaires to live our own personal ‘American Dream.’
Perhaps we should follow Bhutan’s lead and measure progress in “gross national happiness,” rather than simply how much we produce. And while we’re at it, let’s find better role models than these ‘self-made millionaires’ and focus on the people who achieve genuinely good things for all of us!
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