> If 99.999% fail do lack of personal empowerment, that is still a failure of the system, not the individual. A telling miscommunication appears to have occurr

> If 99.999% fail do lack of personal empowerment, that is still a failure of the system, not the individual. A telling miscommunication appears to have occurred. In my mind, I granted the normal distribution of personal empowerment to that that population — and therefore, the vast majority of the failures were attributable to something else (the "corrupt" system). In the fight to be part of the 0.001% successful, a sense of personal empowerment was necessary but not sufficient — lots of people believed in themselves, but belief alone was not enough. But you seem to have thought I meant all 99.999% of them failed due to lacking a sense of personal empowerment. All the successes possess a sense of personal empowerment, and all of the failures lack a sense of personal empowerment. I assert that ascribing success overwhelmingly to personal empowerment is an apologia for the status quo because it serves as an excuse to change nothing. > I don't think we can continue if you disagree that hopelessness, despair, and feelings of worthlessness are problematic. Homeless people feeling hopeless is a problem. Responding to that with moral teaching is futile if your goal is to do something about homelessness, although effective if your goal is to flatter the successful that they are virtuous.