> We do not live in a just world. Pretending that success and failure are attributable to merit alone is the the self-serving moral vanity of the fortunate. Ag

> We do not live in a just world. Pretending that success and failure are attributable to merit alone is the the self-serving moral vanity of the fortunate. Again, I agree with you. I also think this viewpoint is depressing to the point that people will reject it and invent some fiction to excuse their relative comfort. How it can be empowering—delivering tangibly improved quality of life for the people around you—is hard to tie to the premise that people are fundamentally subjected to their environment before their character. Rhetorically, anyway.