I'm grateful to have read such an honest take on a critically important myth. Solutions seem to be both psychological and political. The situation look grim.

I'm grateful to have read such an honest take on a critically important myth. Solutions seem to be both psychological and political. The situation look grim. Psychologically, people within many cultures have developed a pressure point around self-gratification (the faster the better). Wanting to reap the benefits of one's full potential is huge nowadays, in a wide variety of ways. God forbid you don't become your best self, otherwise you may be trapped in the social pit the author was given a ladder to escape from. Politically, the Powers that Be effectively mine the vanity, fear, and resentment that make up modern meritocracy. People's incomes literally depend on portions of the population being terrified by the prospect of being poor and/or disdainful of those in poverty.