The Myth of the Rugged Individual | Robert Reich

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich debunks the myth of the self-made individual and explains what your life chances really depend on.

[richardjeglum]

yes in the words of George C "its a special club and your not in it" (or something close)

[rajanlad]

It's like deja vu of George Carlin comedy routine. American dream is a dream, because you have to be asleep to be in it.

[SilverGuard]

I had no idea the the term "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" originated as a metaphor for an impossible task

[MsMissX]

As a Dane I attended the university for free. As my teacher said a collegue had said to him: You want to live the american dream? Move to Denmark.

[jfangx]

If the American dream is trying to afford bread + peanut butter and going on walks to find loose change then yeah, I'm living it.

[maythesciencebewithyou]

You always hear of the one success story, but never of the hundred who have failed.

[Tommy_Mac]

Pretty much socialism for the rich-they get all the advantages, and capitalism for everyone else.

[BusinessMan]

This seems like basic logic. Not everyone can get a "small loan of a million dollars" from their father like a certain Individual 1

[MrArtist]

Yes, the American dream is fading as huge corporations and their highly-paid politicians keep Americans poor with limited opportunity. I've started and ran 2 businesses, worked extremely hard for 12+ hour days and both companies were put out of business by larger companies who saw me as a threat and put me out of business. Work as hard as you want, there's no guarantee you'll succeed.

[jesuschristpose]

We are in and have been in a "economic slavery" for some time now.

[neilr]

I'm always amazed why people vote against their best interest, Even more so now

[InfernoBlade]

Corporate socialism is reason why the rich are in the position they are in. It is rare for someone to be as successful as the rich when held back by so called rugged individualism

[DaveT]

I am a retired teacher. Something about education that always bothered me was the promulgation of this myth. "You can be anything. You can achieve anything if you just try hard enough." It is and always has been bullshit. And as many here have pointed out, George Carlin nailed it; to believe the "American Dream, " you have to be asleep. What also really kills me is how many people think "thoughts and prayers" are going to accomplish anything. More total bullshit. Next time some imaginary friend pays the rent, puts a meal on the table and/or pays tuition, be sure to let me know.

[bmel]

Let's just quit calling it The American Dream. And call it the American struggle as it should be. Honesty is not one of America's best trades.

[melissaquinn]

My husband and I have done well for ourselves, despite impoverished beginnings, but I acknowledge we did not do it all on our own. Our parents stressed education as the path to a better life. We’re part of the last generation of college students to graduate without crippling debt, but we scrimped and squeezed pennies all the way through. We worked hard, lived very simply, delayed starting our family, and were given lots of opportunities from professors and employers. We have more opportunities than we ever dreamed, and we hope to help our daughter reach for her dreams.

[stefannikola]

“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. ~ George Carlin, standup comedian

[northerniltree]

Washington threw a silver dollar across the Delaware river. But, that feat is impossible today, as a dollar does not go as far as it used to.

[mikeyourbag]

Most people do not take advantage of the opportunity they have as they don't know they have it. I come from an immigrant family and my family has made the US work for us instead of us working for the US.

[Kyle]

Ha, American dream fading? We woke up a decade ago to the American nightmare known as the great recession and it's still haunting many to this day.

[brigham]

It's the same thing with people who claim to be self made. Nonsense. Someone, somewhere, gave them a chance and this opened up other options.