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richardhutnik on 11 June 2012
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Kasz216 said:
richardhutnik said:

If you keep this delusion going where people end up thinking they have a chance to strike it rich, they can labor for years in an area for wages that may not be able to pay for anything, but they think they will get rich.  That can happen.  There is not any necessary connect between what one does and the chance of it paying sufficiently to make a living.   Just get things bad, and desperate enough, and have people glorify the super successful and have them believe they can be one, if they go through this, if they are "good enough" and you could get people killing each other in an arena for glory.  People can sink that low, if a society lets it and people don't have any other options to lean on to.  Having an "every man for themselves" culture will help to breed this.  

What you describe is part of the reasons for the desire to increase social services, to prevent a mass uprising.  But, if there is a political will to gut social services, and push this fend for oneself mentality, you can get people dying as a result.  I remember reading in a thread on here, "I would rather die than get a handout".  Multiple that N-fold, and you get a culture of death abounding, with elites on top glorified.  Only thing to counter it is cultural values that cause people to stop and think a minute.

I'd argue it'd only happen for years in one of two situations

 

A) Significant progress is made towards it.

B) The person who does so is under a big case of denile.

Note the conditions I refer to here also: The cost of continuing to do in an area is very low, close to free actually (relative terms) that even people with very limited resources can do things in an area.  So, they don't get driven out by operating.

In regards to the situations, I think a few more can be added:

* Person faces desperation and doesn't see really any other option but to continue on.  In cases of a bad economy, that can happen.

* Person feels the area they are working in is their calling, and enjoy doing it.  People do have hobbies, and it could actually be a hobby for them.

* The environment increasing feeds into the delusions by promoting the successful, and keeps telling people anyone can make it, if they keep on 

 

I know the first two from experience actually.  I do game design now, and things game related, with a professional attitude, because I don't see too many other options available.   

As for the last one,  I see in what floats around in the culture, with all these self-help.  The book, "Bright-Sided" actually goes into the whole positive attitude aspect to the culture, right down to pushing self-esteem.  Test scores go down, but hey, the kids feel good about themselves.  Sometimes, you have to hear that you suck at something.  Of course, besides saying "You suck" there has to be positive alternative provided.  Here is more on the book:

http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/brightsided.htm

And Penn and Teller also address this in one of their episodes of their show: