The Value of the Work Ethic in America

It's an old saw, really - if you study hard, work hard, etc., you will make it.

Make it where?  The assumed place that you want to make it is into the middle class.  Of course you want to make it there - that's where social power resides in America.  I've contended that bourgeois culture is completely corrupt, but then where does one turn?  I've argued that we need to build a new culture - not an oppositional culture, but a new culture from scratch.

But let me concede the case for a moment . . . let us agree that the bourgeois life is the goal.  So, does hard work get you there?  Well, yes and no.

First, without hard work, making it is nearly impossible.

But hard work is also not a guarantee.  For some, it is about plain old good luck - Andrew Carnegie: born a poor Irish immigrant.  Worked in a factory.  Got a windfall opportunity from his boss to own a piece of the company and from there he built his empire.  Had he gotten a job at a different factory, or his boss had been a different person, it never would have happened.

For others, it is about the opportunities that come (or not) more easily because of one's family, socioeconomic status, race, gender, etc.

If you've been keeping up with me over the last month or so, you know that I'm a dreamer.  I'd like to see a society where the opportunities are openly available to all, where people build communities that care for each other, where hard work is not just rewarded, but is truly its own reward because the worker has control over their own labor.