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Success In Margaret Mead's The Egalitarian Error

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Success in the United States Success seems to be a very prominent thing in the United States of America. Our country was entirely built on the idea of people being able to have their own success if they simply worked for it. It is set up so that anyone can have the success they want since our country strives to give everyone equal opportunities. Therefore, success is very important in our nation. The success a person has typically gives others an idea of them, maybe without even knowing them. Those who have more successful are usually viewed higher than others who do not. Margaret Mead goes on in The Egalitarian Error, to explain her analysis of success. Mead quotes, “For many Americans, the concept of success is a source of confusion. …show more content…

Margaret Mead states, “But while we often rejoice in the success of people far removed from ourselves-people who work in another profession, live in another community, or are endowed with a talent that we do not especially want for ourselves-we tend to regard the success of people close at hand, within our own small group, as a threat." I cannot agree with this more, honestly. I think people tend to look at the people around them who are successful as a threat becasue they know they can be compared to them. For instance, a girl in high school who is extremely pretty will threaten all the other girls. That is simply becasue the other girls will feel like they will be compared to the really pretty girl. Like I mentioned earlier, people compare each other depending on their success. Those who are lower on the economic scale will be viewed lesser than those who are high up on it. That's honestly just how it is, the people who do not have as much success will be compared to those who have a lot of success. That is why people feel threatened by those around them who are successful. Like at least no one is going to compare me to a Kardashian, but they could with any other girl in this school. It is easier to be compared to people around you, which is why people feel more threatened by

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