How «The Self-Made Man» Myth Feeds the American Dream



Our beliefs in the “self-made man,” and «The American Dream» are largely myths, don’t serve society well, and may perpetuate economic and social inequality.

Movies, TV shows and popular media, and many politicians are reinforcing these myths by arguing and promoting the notion that anyone can be wealthy or make it to the top by virtue of their hard work and positive attitude and that’s how successful people did it in the past. We regularly read or hear about success stories like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Mark Cuban and a host of others.

And the self-made man myth is alive and well in Silicon Valley, built on the dream of the next killer app or technological device, where success stories of people like Steven Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg bombards the mainstream media. It’s interesting to note that most “rags-to-riches” success stories are defined in terms of doing well in business and making lots of money.Yet rarely do we hear about the significant investments and contributions by some if not all of the following people: family, friends, associates, protagonists, antagonists, advisors, teachers, authors, mentors, coaches, and the list could go on.

The themes of self-reliance and personal responsibility as a means to amassing unlimited success has been an appealing story for more than a century. The self-made man myth, also described as “The American Dream” has been linked at various times to Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Horatio Alger stories. Not only is there little truth in the belief, but this oversimplified story has created an indelible view that there is neither responsibility nor the need to take care of one another, including those most vulnerable among us. It’s every person for himself or herself. And many self-help books and gurus have supplemented the fictional stories by emphasizing the values of independence and taking personal responsibility.....