Hard work always equals success?

A self-perpetuating cycle of fallacy and power.

The belief that hard work is “all it takes to succeed” can be deeply motivating. It can bestow us with a faith in outcomes we have no business believing in, statistically speaking. It makes many of us attempt the near-impossible, assuring that at least a few of us break through and achieve it.

That’s the power of this particular capital B Belief: A useful lie that impels the many and benefits the few.

Or perhaps we think it benefits us all in some ways: Innovation. Comfort. Quality of living.

A smart phone in every pocket. Antibiotics on every street corner. We tell ourselves that such luxuries must be fueled by competition.

For competition to work, enough people need to believe they have a chance to succeed. In America, it seems we’ve decided to sell this lie, this Belief, to as many people as possible; we lustfully embrace it, and we say that in the end it raises all boats. Who cares how many hearts and spirits we break along the way?

(Perhaps you do. Let’s find out.)

How does this process play out and perpetuate itself? It’s pretty interesting from an engineering standpoint. Let’s break the phenomenon down into a simple algorithm so we can have a cold, hard look at its insidiousness:

1. The Belief takes hold

A cohort of individuals is introduced to the belief that hard work is the key to success, often through cultural and societal messaging.

2. Against-the-odds effort is exerted

The Belief inspires individuals within the cohort to put in irrational amounts of effort in pursuit of success, often ignoring other factors that may influence outcomes.

3. A percentage ”succeed”

Despite the odds, a small percentage of individuals within the cohort achieve success, often due to a combination of hard work, luck, and various external factors.

4. The Belief is reinforced, validated

Upon arriving at success, the percentage of the cohort attributes their success solely or mostly to their hard work, reinforcing the Belief and creating a confirmation bias. (Many worked equally hard; but few broke through, and this is denied or downplayed.)

5. The Belief is propagated

Those who succeeded and internalized the Belief rise to positions of power and influence, where they propagate the Belief through the power structures they now control.

6. Cultural ideology is shaped

The Belief becomes embedded in the societal mindset, further reinforcing the cycle and making it more difficult for alternative perspectives to gain traction.

7. Law of averages

Due to the sheer number of people who hold the Belief, only a few are able to attain access to power structures, but almost all of them arrive there with the confirmation bias of the Belief in the power of hard work alone.

Commentary

This seven-step process is self-perpetuating a damaging cognitive bias. It leads to oppressive ideologies built on a Just World Fallacy, i.e. the belief that people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Again, the Belief has pros and cons. It may be pragmatic, depending on what we value as a nation. But it’s also intellectually dishonest and morally bankrupt.

Perhaps it doesn’t have to be this way — maybe it’s feasible and desirable that we change it.

Consider the Scandinavian model of universal education, healthcare and more precise taxation — it seems like a more moral system and yields a solid society and a fairer economy. Its policies are no more inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution than was the New Deal in its time.

It certainly would take enormous political will for America to evolve in this way. It’s not going to happen soon. Much work needs to be done.

In any case, for better or worse, the whole current thing is a kind of parlor trick, a Rube Goldberg machine ensuring that those who succeed are largely infected with a confirmation bias, based on their personal experience, and since these people tend to set the tone for society, this bias impacts us all. Indeed, many of us share it even as we read/write this.

But once you see the way our system pushes these biases to the top by design, you can’t unsee it.

The question is what to do?