The myths by Horatio Alger and his imitators have done a lot of damage to society, as it is typically used to blame people for matters outside of their personal

The myths by Horatio Alger and his imitators have done a lot of damage to society, as it is typically used to blame people for matters outside of their personal control. According to that line of thinking, poor people deserve to be poor, because it's entirely within their control to not be poor.