A recipe for what?

SUCCESS is one of those things it is impossible to be against. Most people want it for themselves  and their children, and will work hard to get it (what “it” is is open to debate, of course, but money and recognition are high on most people’s priorities). How best to achieve success is a highly contentious issue, however. Few politicians use the “s” word explicitly, but when they talk about “strivers versus skivers” or “equality of opportunity”, what they are really talking about is creating the conditions under which more people can succeed. On this issue, the old-fashioned left-right divide is still apparent. Broadly speaking, those on the left emphasise the role of society and the state in supporting people and providing a safety net for those who don’t succeed. The right sees success as a reward for individual talent, gumption and, yes, greed. Both viewpoints have their merits (see page 30). What both sides seem to agree on is that equality of opportunity is a good starting point. That is hard to disagree with. But it is also hard to square with what is happening on the ground. In the UK, for example, the government talks about giving people the opportunity to succeed, yet is doing the opposite of what almost all the researchers contacted by New Scientist say
needs to be done. It is slashing preschool initiatives despite a vast body of evidence showing how important they are for future achievement. It is pushing a narrow, standardised school curriculum that favours a subset of children. And it is introducing more standardised tests, rather than letting children develop at their own pace. Coupled with rising inequality – a problem across the developed world – this would seem to be a recipe for failure. The real secret of highly successful people  is often that they got a good  start in life. Politicians who are truly interested in extending opportunity should take note.