Rugged individualism, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency are terms associated with wealth and success in the U.S. and throughout the world. They led to the use of terms like, ‘self-made millionaires’ and ‘self-made men’. I ask, is It even conceivable that any wealth or success can be achieved alone? The early wealth of the U.S. came from taking or acquiring land, information, and resources from the people who lived here before the settlers came from Europe. The labor of men and women brought here forcibly from the continent of Africa to work as slaves produced great wealth for plantation owners, manufacturers, and the nation. The cheap labor of Blacks after slavery was abolished, and the cheap labor of the Chinese, the Irish, and other immigrant groups created the wealth of the railroad, shipping, and manufacturing industries. The wealthiest people in the world must know that their wealth could never have been generated alone. The industrialists made great wealth employing men to work fourteen hours a day, six days for pennies a day, under harsh and unreasonable conditions. Women were paid less than men, children paid less, and sometimes families were hired for one wage.
It was the tireless efforts of many that brought about the labor laws and produced regulations that changed unfair working conditions and unfair compensation. When you consider the fact that so much of what we use every day comes from so many parts of the world, and that so many instructors taught us along the way, it does not seem logical that anyone can consider themselves self-made. Does anyone ever succeed or fail alone? Whether you are wealthy or poor, you did not get there by yourself. With our emphasis on individualism we have lost the ability to see just how dependent we are on one another. With our greed for self-wealth we have created an atmosphere that says, ‘every person for themselves.’
Wealth and poverty are created in interaction and interdependence with others. While it may be impossible for anyone to be self-made, self-reliant, and totally self-sufficient, we can be self-disciplined. When we are disciplined for success, it can never be our success alone.