Belief in the System

Don't stop believing.

While reading The Oil Drum this morning, I found this interesting short essay regarding the motivation of workers.

The topic of elites stimulated this train of thought: yes, there are elites in every human culture (and in the social apes as well). But unlike a troop of chimps ruled by an alpha male, today's elites cannot operate the vast complex structure of the the U.S. economy, government and society themselves. They need hundreds of thousands of well-educated, hard-working people to believe in the system of meritocracy, justice, opportunity, etc., people who will choose to invest their entire productive lives in sustaining the structure the elites influence/control.

Who needs a conspiracy when you have ambitious yuppies? This reminds me of the book Freakonomics where it is figured that the average crack cocaine dealer makes less than minimum wage. The dealers are willing to work the long hours and take huge risks in exchange for a small chance to get to the top of the pyramid.

Link