Should we blame people for their success or failure in life, or should we blame society for not givi

Nomenclature

The first thing you should do is ask yourself where these interpretations of success and failure have come from and whether they have any objective validity as concepts. If you were a soldier in the army of Genghis Khan, then you might be considered successful if you'd burned and looted seven villages and raped twelve virgins. The moral of the story is that you shouldn't allow any society to dictate these definitions to you.

John_C_87

@Nomenclature
Is that a Medical Virgin or Virgin by Religous Law under GOD?

I do not understand you to be able to comprehend the difference, when a person cannot make such complex transitions of understanding they are believed incapable of being by law allowed to represent people in a judicial manner linking others to established justice, though not the law in your Country or America it is whole truth, nothing but truth.

just_sayin

I would argue that there are cases where personal responsibility would make a difference in people's outcomes.  That's not to say that every situation that a person finds themselves in is their fault.  Chromosomes and chance impact us also.  We can't do anything about those. A person can't control where they start in life.  They can't control the environment in which they grew up.  We can't control other people and their actions can and do have an impact on us.  With all that said, for many people, the choices they make will either improve or worsen their situation.  There are many who seek to devalue the power of personal responsibility.  They choose to see people only as victims of life.  Such a view is destructive to people though.  Seeing yourself as only a victim, means that you have no power to change your situation.  For many circumstances, this is a false belief. 

I've mentioned the research of the Brookings Institute before, but it bears repeating.  Their study of the US census data found that if people did 3 things, they could rise up out of poverty within a decade - and that 77 percent would have incomes of $55,000 or more a year: 1) Don't have kids until you are at least 21, 2) finish high school, and 3) get a job - any job to start.  For most people those 3 things are doable.  That's incredible good news that if applied changes people's life trajectory.