Hard Work Value
The belief in hard work and its rewards is a universal American value. Born of one of America's
foundational mythologies, that all men are created equal, hard work is thought to be the key to
securing financial and social success. When all are equal, so the argument goes, success depends not
on the circumstances of one's birth–race, class, gender or geography–but on one's natural talents and
willingness to work hard. Within this meritocratic framework, hard work, not opportunity, is the
primary determiner of achievement. Contemporary ethnographies support this claim; studies of the
working–class from Silva, Hochschild, and Lamont, along with Khan's ethnography of the upper
middle–class, confirm a fundamental belief in the merit of hard...show more content...
Lamont's respondents ranked "being hardworking" as one of the most valued positive qualities a
person could have (pg. 20). The workers Lamont interviewed also placed emphasis on the
non–monetary rewards of hard work; conflating hard work with responsibility and caring for others
(pg. 24). It is through hard work that these workers exert some measure of control over their
often–unpredictable environments (Lamont, pg. 23). Arlie Russell Hochschild's book, Strangers in
Their Own Land, echoes many of the same observations. Hochschild's respondents spoke of
working hard for their whole lives and being proud of that hard work, regardless of the outcome
(pg. 155). Hochschild's workers expressed the sentiment that work is its own reward, and that hard
work is honorable (pg. 149, 155). Notably, the working–class subjects of these studies rarely
emphasize the financial rewards of hard work except when relative to providing for others–yet
another mark of the honor hard work confers. Like their working–class counterparts, members of the
upper middle–class share a commitment to hard work that deemphasize economic rewards and
focuses on character and ability. Shamus Rahman Khan's book, Privilege: The Making of an
Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School, interviewed students who, though economic success seems
certain, remain acutely aware of the need to work hard. Students believe hard work won them entry to
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