Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to re: scope of causality

Earn and merit
Mary Anne — (archived)

It would be easier to swallow "the deserving rich" as an idea if more of them were rags-to-riches stories.

Most of them are riches-to-even-more-riches stories, or comfortable-to-opulent stories. The fact is, in most cases, one has to have money to make money, and the money one has is usually family money.

When talking about a meritocracy, conservatives seldom take this into account. People can work like hell their whole lives, and can even have original and potentially profitable ideas, but if they haven't the connections to get past the gatekeepers, they will not have enough "merit" to get a hearing.

Betty Walker, in her telephone comedy monologs, once said to her fictional friend Ceil, "The only way you can borrow money from this bank -- are you listening to me Ceil? -- the only way you can get money from this bank is if you can prove to this bank beyond the shadow of a doubt that you don't need it."

Like many things that are entertaining, Horatio Alger stories inspire because they're rare. "Anyone" can become President of the United States, too. But only technically.

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