[quote=CA renter]Are you claiming that these two people have the same opportunity to succeed in life?[/quote]
CA Renter, please note that Bobby did not claim that everyone has the same opportunity. What he did claim was that the argument that you can only succeed if born into wealth is not true. These are different arguments. It is possible to believe 1) life is unfair and some are born with more advantages AND 2) some will succeed despite the circumstances they are born into. There is nothing mutually exclusive about these two different beliefs. Can you see that these are different arguments?
From my own perspective, this civics lesson has the same fault that the previous civics lesson thread had. Neither example really reflects life. Both have enough truth to make them seem plausible at a casual reading but upon closer inspection they are both based on core beliefs that my experience has lead me to question.
In the previous thread, underlying the argument was the belief that everyone is lazy and unless given personal motivation they would not study. This ignores the whole premise that people can work cooperatively for common good, or that people can be motivated out of altruistic desires.
This thread has as its core underlying argument that life is a zero sum game, and that the only way to get ahead is at the expense of others. And that those born ahead are not likely to do anything to help those that are born less fortunate, and thus there is no hope for those born into less than ideal circumstances.
To me, both threads share a very pessimistic and unrealistic view of the world. Personally, in most of the classes I attended at college, there was opportunity for all, and there was a lot of support among fellow students. Then again, I studied music at college not business, so what do I know about cut-throat competitive behavior?
