General

Success and Luck

good fortune and the myth of meritocracy

by Robert H. Frank Review by David Lorimer, April 2017

Published: 2017
Publisher: Princeton
Format: Hardback
Pages: 187 pp.
ISBN: 9780691178301

Publisher’s description

From New York Times bestselling author and economics columnist Robert Frank, a compelling book that explains why the rich underestimate the importance of luck in their success, why that hurts everyone, and what we can do about it How important is luck in economic success? No question more reliably divides conservatives from liberals. As conservatives correctly observe, people who amass great fortunes are almost always talented and hardworking. But liberals are also correct to note that countless others have those same qualities yet never earn much. In recent years, social scientists have discovered that chance plays a much larger role in important life outcomes than most people imagine. In Success and Luck, bestselling author and New York Times economics columnist Robert Frank explores the surprising implications of those findings to show why the rich underestimate the importance of luck in success—and why that hurts everyone, even the wealthy. Frank describes how, in a world increasingly dominated by winner-take-all markets, chance opportunities and trivial initial advantages often translate into much larger ones—and enormous income differences—over time; how false beliefs about luck persist, despite compelling evidence against them; and how myths about personal success and luck shape individual and political choices in harmful ways. But, Frank argues, we could decrease the inequality driven by sheer luck by adopting simple, unintrusive policies that would free up trillions of dollars each year—more than enough to fix our crumbling infrastructure, expand healthcare coverage, fight global warming, and reduce poverty, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. If this sounds implausible, you'll be surprised to discover that the solution requires only a few, noncontroversial steps. Compellingly readable, Success and Luck shows how a more accurate understanding of the role of chance in life could lead to better, richer, and fairer economies and societies.

The subtitle of 'good fortune and the myth of meritocracy' conveys the substance of the argument in this stimulating book. Perhaps the most dramatic example in the author's life, although there are others, is his sudden cardiac arrest while playing tennis and the fact that ambulance came so quickly when the average was around 15 minutes. The author arguably creates too great a dichotomy between success and luck in order to make the important point that talented and hard-working people do not always succeed and that advantages or disadvantages of birth may be decisive. What is missing is the dynamic between inner and outer represented by synchronicity and also illustrated in Pasteur's maxim that chance favours the prepared mind – we have to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities. The author shows how winner-takes-all markets magnify the role of luck and that the biggest winners are almost always lucky, like Bill Gates. Successful people will be inclined to attribute more of their success to hard work and talent than luck, which may be a misapprehension and a rationalisation that they deserve the large amount of money associated with their success. The author reports on a fascinating experiment where the emphasis of a success narrative is subtly shifted by final paragraph stressing either hard work or luck - students are more likely to think the author kind and friendly if they admit role of luck. Curiously, the author also makes an interesting case for a progressive consumption rather than income tax, which is only tangentially related to the main theme of the book through inequality. In any event, it makes for an engaging reflection.

Related to this book