6 ms·

This. I think it was Chesterton who said that most Americans think of themselves as momentarily embarrassed millionaires.

dominotw 9y ago
Isn't that a good thing?
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  Sounds like overestimating your worth to society; which to me is likely to lead to arrogance and irresponsible financial behaviour, at least.
  - dominotw 9y ago
    also could be a sign of drive and passion to make it. I would take that over being defeated and complacent. I lived in soviet block as a kid and everyone had this defeated attitude which is such a contrast to american optimism. Although, things are changing in America now, more and more people feel hopeless and defeated here too.
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      It's not defeatist to be realistic about who you are, to make the most of resources you can afford, we need much more of that if we're not going to implode with pressures from overpopulation. Do you know the tale of the Ant & the Grasshopper? If you 'make it' (produce something that brings great worth to society) first then you're welcome, IMO, to use a little more than your fair share of resources. You don't get to do it the other way around as the majority of Western society appears to be doing (other regions maybe are too, I don't have an informed view on them).
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- delecti 9y ago
  It would be good if it were true. Obviously it would be great if somehow everyone could live as comfortably as the rich (ignoring that it wouldn't be possible for a variety of reasons). The problem is that it's not true. A majority will never be rich, and a disappointingly high number of people will only ever barely scrape by.
  - dominotw 9y ago
    It doens't matter if you become a millionaire or not. Life driven by hope and passion is much more enjoyable than one without one.
    - gech 9y ago
      Ah yes, we should have people lying to themselves.
      - dominotw 9y ago
        > A majority will never be rich Do you really think most people are unaware of this basic fact?
        ryandrake 9y ago
        It looks like at least 39% are.
      - ImSkeptical 9y ago
        That's a cynical way to put it. A more positive spin on the same idea would be that we encourage ambition and hope for the future. If my child wants to be a billionaire, should I say "Sweetie, you probably won't be a billionaire, so don't get your hopes up." Or should I say "it'll be tough, almost impossible, you'll need to work hard, study hard, be smart, etc."? I know which lesson I'd prefer to give.
        graedus 9y ago
drwicked 9y ago
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress Commonly misattributed
- archagon 9y ago
  Incidentally, I recently found a similar sentiment expressed in a book from 1937: http://ask.metafilter.com/314056/Temporarily-Embarrassed-Millionaires-Steinbeck-vs-Ilf-Petrov-Trone http://ask.metafilter.com/314056/Temporarily-Embarrassed-Mil...
kamaal 9y ago
Having stayed in the US for a while and returned to my native country(India). I have to say its a little hard to not feel like that, if you had the opportunities, freedom and the overall ecosystem there is in the US.

dominotw 9y ago

Isn't that a good thing?

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
Sounds like overestimating your worth to society; which to me is likely to lead to arrogance and irresponsible financial behaviour, at least.
- dominotw 9y ago
  also could be a sign of drive and passion to make it. I would take that over being defeated and complacent. I lived in soviet block as a kid and everyone had this defeated attitude which is such a contrast to american optimism. Although, things are changing in America now, more and more people feel hopeless and defeated here too.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    It's not defeatist to be realistic about who you are, to make the most of resources you can afford, we need much more of that if we're not going to implode with pressures from overpopulation. Do you know the tale of the Ant & the Grasshopper? If you 'make it' (produce something that brings great worth to society) first then you're welcome, IMO, to use a little more than your fair share of resources. You don't get to do it the other way around as the majority of Western society appears to be doing (other regions maybe are too, I don't have an informed view on them).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
delecti 9y ago
It would be good if it were true. Obviously it would be great if somehow everyone could live as comfortably as the rich (ignoring that it wouldn't be possible for a variety of reasons). The problem is that it's not true. A majority will never be rich, and a disappointingly high number of people will only ever barely scrape by.
- dominotw 9y ago
  It doens't matter if you become a millionaire or not. Life driven by hope and passion is much more enjoyable than one without one.
  - gech 9y ago
    Ah yes, we should have people lying to themselves.
    - dominotw 9y ago
      > A majority will never be rich Do you really think most people are unaware of this basic fact?
      - ryandrake 9y ago
        It looks like at least 39% are.
    - ImSkeptical 9y ago
      That's a cynical way to put it. A more positive spin on the same idea would be that we encourage ambition and hope for the future. If my child wants to be a billionaire, should I say "Sweetie, you probably won't be a billionaire, so don't get your hopes up." Or should I say "it'll be tough, almost impossible, you'll need to work hard, study hard, be smart, etc."? I know which lesson I'd prefer to give.
      - graedus 9y ago

drwicked 9y ago

“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress Commonly misattributed

archagon 9y ago
Incidentally, I recently found a similar sentiment expressed in a book from 1937: http://ask.metafilter.com/314056/Temporarily-Embarrassed-Millionaires-Steinbeck-vs-Ilf-Petrov-Trone http://ask.metafilter.com/314056/Temporarily-Embarrassed-Mil...

kamaal 9y ago

Having stayed in the US for a while and returned to my native country(India). I have to say its a little hard to not feel like that, if you had the opportunities, freedom and the overall ecosystem there is in the US.