The Myth of the "Self-Made" Man

"He is a self-made man, and he worships his creator."
- attributed to John Bright, speaking of Benjamin Disraeli

Fame is the peoples’ drug of choice and there is nothing in a society where capitalism reigns supreme that attracts attention more than a story of rags to riches. Millions follow the trends set by the next media icon, the next superstar to catch market attention and public opinion before fading from view to be replaced by yet another. People adore the celebrity, seeing them as the paragon of what is attainable in society - regardless of their actions they are looked up to and everything about them is constantly discussed. The public sees supposedly ordinary men and women rise, seemingly without help, to the heights of fame, luxury and refinement.

This myth of the self-made man, coming from a low standard of life to becoming all-powerful is a myth that drives a culture based on capitalism. It is a belief that anyone can do anything and attain fame by doing it and people will love them for it and respect them. The public fails to see the genetics of ambition that the aspiring celebrity may have attained from their ancestry, nor do they often recognize the countless numbers of people who assisted them on the road to fame - friends, family, experts, corporate men, media men, countless others wanting to benefit from yet another model of the capitalist dream. The person may not even require talent, just an appearance pleasing to the senses. Something the viewer can gaze upon with awe or envy. Politics is being invaded by this way of thinking just as every other aspect of society and the decay in integrity and values that it represents is catastrophic.

When everything is graded in terms of entertainment value and when politics becomes a game of image over content we know that it is those behind the entertainment corporations who wield the real power. Fame is a drug and billions watch, addicted to meaningless excess, in an effort to find meaning in their lives and a distraction from feelings of inadequacy. They watch those who have segregated themselves from society with bodyguards, private estates, security fences and tinted windows so that they live in a fantasy world – and yet they view these celebrities as role-models. The audience watches with rigid fascination at the latest scandal and latest fad, hooked on an imaginary world fed by a lie - the self-made man.

Ultimately it is our relationships that shape us. The individual may work hard but unless others also work hard with them their dreams remain unfounded. Rags to riches tales are rarely true, generally they are spread by men and women from affluent backgrounds seeking only to bolster their own image in the eyes of those less materially affluent than themselves – even when they are true, the individuals in question rarely are able to keep their morality, let alone dignity, intact once they find themselves swimming in the sea of their newly acquired personal fortune. It is clearly a disease that society looks up to those who through fame have become abstractions – alienated individuals that are pale shades of humanity. The cult of celebrity becomes a sick religion and it represents only degradation. Dignified human beings do not stoop so low and such excesses should be looked upon only with disdain for the waste that they represent.

The culture of celebrities not only encourages excess and uncontrolled desire it also produces armies of individuals who worship certain human beings as gods simply because they sing, dance, act well, or simply have a lot of money or are attractive. The term “fan” is simply short for fanatic and that cannot be forgotten. It represents a cancer at the heart of western civilization; a drain on our resources, a waste of our time, a negative effect on our worldview, and a corruption of the human spirit.

Millions of people did not die and great leaders such as Winston Churchill did not lead so that the world could be turned one day into a giant shopping mall or playground. The men and women of the past did not take up arms so that this world could be ruled by such deceit and purposeless waste and ignorance. They did not give their lives for alienation.

The wealthy and privileged owe their wealth and privilege to society and as such must be prepared to contribute their fair share in return. In the Universalist Imperium they must be prepared to live with greater austerity than their counterparts in less enlightened societies. In the Universalist Imperium there must be solidarity among all citizens: for that is a vital part of an enlightened society that upholds dignity above all – no one may stand apart from what is all-embracing.

May any glory won by the individual, also be the glory of the community which gave birth to them and sustains them. Accomplishment is a shared concept. For no one accomplishes anything without the support of others. Thus individual fulfillment requires collective solidarity.