I feel I need to speak up in support of success. If La Vagabonde are getting $1m a year for sailing around on their boat and making videos then of course that seems 'unfair' when some people are struggling to feed themselves. But La Vagabonde and other entertainers didn't succeed by themselves. We (all the people who watch their videos) made them a success and while you might say that sailing around is a superfluous way to make a living, I think you could say the same of almost anyone who makes their living entertaining others. And of course, as cruisers, we're all guilty if spending time doing something superfluous becomes socially unacceptable.
As for billionaires and mega corporations like
Google, likewise, they didn't achieve their success without the willing support of millions/billions of people (excluding those who inherit their wealth). We don't have to use their products. This is how it works in a capitalist system. It's not equitable and that's partly the point. I personally think that a good argument could be made for eliminating inheritance where people get rich by just being born to the right parents, but people who start with nothing and become a billionaire have achieved massive success. Is this really wrong if they achieved this legally? Is it wrong that Roger Federer made over $80m last year as the world's top paid sports person. Once again, he made almost all of that
money because you and I buy products that he endorses.
I think we would all wish for a society where everyone gets a chance to succeed and is not vilified if they do and is not vilified if they don't. That's not how it is right now and racism is a shameful example of just how inhuman we humans can be. Things need to be fixed and if our
government is failing to make progress, then as a democracy, that's on us. So, rather than attacking people who are succeeding, perhaps we should focus our energy on figuring out how to do better.
Maybe I am naive, but I still believe that with constant vigilance we can make society more just
and create an
environment where success can flourish. These are not mutually exclusive. I will admit, however, that it seems that many governments today are not really focused on this; I don't see them prioritizing the challenge of creating a more perfect union, of better serving the people they represent. That's worrying and we should demand better from those we trust with the greatest monopoly of all, our
government...or, just go sailing, create some nice vlogs and feed people's dreams as they sit at home staring at their smart device.
I really hesitated to post this and perhaps that's a problem too; that so often these days, online discussions about topics like this rapidly descend into abuse. Anyway, I hope that alternative views are still allowed.
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