The idea that working hard pays off is a half truth. Working hard always pays off more than not working hard, as long as you aren’t working stupid. BUT the reason why I don’t buy into that train of thought is that in our society money attracts money and power attracts power, growth and success are always exponential rate which encourages a wacky distribution of wealth. If you can make more money the more money you have and there is a limited amount of money, that means it become harder and harder to succeed when putting in the same amount of work. It’s great if you believe religiously in competition but if you believe competition is only natural in a state of lack...well then, you have a big problem with your system.
I don’t suppose we will be able to reform the system in a way that makes it sustainable indefinitely, but I do hope we can slow down this trend long enough for the greatest possible amount of people to significantly improve their circumstances without creating too many ultra power players who believe such extreme dominance over everyone else is justified and willing to protect it at all costs, that’s exactly why so many people criticize the state.