Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy.
Laurie Taylor talks to Robert H. Frank, Professor of Economics at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, about the role luck has to play in life’s successes, or failures.
Thinking Allowed @16min 37secs
Frank argues that chance is much more significant than people give it credit for. Lynsey Hanley, writer and Visiting Fellow at the Research Centre for Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University, joins the discussion.
Robert Frank argues that if people are given the space to acknowledge the role of luck in their success, this can lead to them being more willing to share. Lynsey Hanley ends by advocating for ‘a better feathered bed for everyone to build upon, to avoid so much stress and difficulty’ – a useful way of thinking about citizen’s income.
Breathing Space 
December 18, 2016 at 3:21 pm
“Luck” seems such a simple word a bit like “magic”. Other simple words also come to mind…
I am fairly certain that the importance of luck is underestimated by many people who regularly achieve certain things in their lives and it can be overestimated by groups of other people who feel that “good luck” is not part of their experience.
Once the later view sets in over time a psychological bar is created which makes groups of people feel there is no point in trying because they are the kind of people who will not be able to meet personal goals; they exist to help to provide for others. People from privileged backgrounds don’t need to think about luck; they have a sense of entitlement that comes from their privilege. Other people (disabled people, working class people, people of different racial or ethnic background from that of the main culture, etc.) feel and often are “stuck”. Fortunately there do seem to be determined individuals within the less privileged who can push to succeed even though there are barriers limiting their rights to progress.
Presumably that is why social programmes that provide ” a boost up” improve individual’s situations and can increase standards of living generally. A “can do” attitude is easily fostered when individuals meet “luck” / privilege consistently. It’s much more difficult to reach a goal of any kind when what you and those around you experience keeps you treading water and in your place.
Therefore the idea of a citizen’s income that provides a more equal starting point makes so much sense. People could then more readily engage with experiences and “have a go” at something they want to do because individual income provides a better basis for everyone. Immediate personal needs are more easily met which allows individuals to have ideas and recognise their talents to use time and circumstances given to them to fulfill themselves. It would give more individuals hope and increase their sense of what is possible.
This kind of social change does mean that the privileged have to realise that some opportunities,”luck”, and entitlement have to be shared out more people who have not been previously privileged. Unfortunately the human characteristic of “greed” often prevents such redistribution.
To spread things around where equality is the outcome, so much thinking has to change. We have to decide when enough is enough in our lives and let go of the wealth we don’t need and make sure the lives of others are improved even though “good luck” never seems to come their way.
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December 20, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Yes, one of Frank’s aims is to gather and harness arguments that encourage people to change their thinking, either out of a sense of fairness or self interest. Later on in the radio programme he gives an example of the latter with this question to the imaginary well heeled listener – ‘Would you rather drive a Ferrari on roads with deep potholes and ruts, or a Porsche on smooth tarmac?’.
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December 18, 2016 at 11:10 pm
This comic is very relevant. http://digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris/
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December 20, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Thanks Jane, very relevant. And also leads to a question about how to visualise these issues.
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