--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was, and still is, a sense that…" description: "\"“There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy families with connections, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/j-d-vance-3503_family_there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-thos_116458.jpg" --- # There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it… ![“There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy families with connections, and their lives were set from the moment they were born. The second are the meritocratic: They were born with brains and couldn’t fail if they tried…” quote by J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/j-d-vance-3503_family_there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-thos_116458.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/j-d-vance-3503_family_there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-thos_116458.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/j-d-vance-3503_family_there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-thos_116458.jpg) > ““There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy families with connections, and their lives were set from the moment they were born. The second are the meritocratic: They were born with brains and couldn’t fail if they tried. Because very few in Middletown fall into the former category, people assume that everyone who makes it is just really smart. To the average Middletonian, hard work doesn’t matter as much as raw talent. It’s”” [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often attribute success to innate talent, overlooking the role of privilege and luck that also shape outcomes. **In simple terms:** Success is seen as talent, ignoring luck and privilege. Key Takeaway Narratives of meritocracy ignore structural advantages. Themes meritocracy privilege luck social perception Mood critical thoughtful Type social critique observation When to use this quote - college admissions debates - career advancement discussions - policy making on inequality Key Concepts sociology of success cognitive bias Practical Applications - Highlight diverse success stories - Implement mentorship for under‑privileged groups Questions to Reflect On - How can societies recognize both talent and privilege? - What policies best mitigate inequitable starting points? A Different Perspective Emphasizing luck may demotivate individuals who feel disadvantaged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average Middletonian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-middletonian-1369587/) [Born Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-brains-319981/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Meritocratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meritocratic-314951/) [Meritocratic Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meritocratic-born-1369586/) [Middletonian Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middletonian-hard-1369585/) ## Related quotes > [Children are born with brains, NOT habits and beliefs. They become what they see and hear and examples shown them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/children-are-born-with-brains-not-habits-and-beliefs-they-become-what/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Inside each of us is a unique person resulting from millennia of environment and heredity combined in a way that could never happen again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/inside-each-of-us-is-a-unique-person-resulting-from-millennia-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [From now on you're going to have to think. There's a reason why we're born with brains in our heads, not rocks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/from-now-on-you-re-going-to-have-to-think-there-s-a-reason-why-we-re/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [There's a reason why we're born with brains in our heads, not rocks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brom/there-s-a-reason-why-we-re-born-with-brains-in-our-heads-not-rocks/) [Brom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brom/) > [There is this mythology that says that when people are born, their brains are essentially fixed very early on and they're not able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/there-is-this-mythology-that-says-that-when-people-are-born-their/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [“humans are born with brains structured to make sense of the world, and that often leads to beliefs that go beyond any natural explanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/humans-are-born-with-brains-structured-to-make-sense-of-the-world-and/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [Britain's great postwar meritocratic experiment was broad-based, but it was in politics that the change was most dramatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil/britain-s-great-postwar-meritocratic-experiment-was-broad-based-but/) [Andrew Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-neil/) > [We don't have ways of resolving the arguments in idea meritocratic way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/we-don-t-have-ways-of-resolving-the-arguments-in-idea-meritocratic-way/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Our democratic societies rest on a meritocratic worldview, or at any rate a meritocratic hope, by which I mean a belief in a society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/our-democratic-societies-rest-on-a-meritocratic-worldview-or-at-any/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“Uniting the many challenges to the commercial meritocratic ideal is a threefold plea, that we cease investing with moral connotations something as apparently haphazardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/uniting-the-many-challenges-to-the-commercial-meritocratic-ideal-is-a/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [What is different in capitalist civilization has been two things. 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I don't really believe that in a society that aspires to be meritocratic and that believes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-believe-in-creating-dynastic-wealth-i-don-t-really-believe/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“In the United States, France, and most other countries, talk about the virtues of the national meritocratic model is seldom based on close examination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/in-the-united-states-france-and-most-other-countries-talk-about-the/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“You are expected to go to the higher level and look down on yourself and others as part of a system. 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Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/within-two-generations-the-transplanted-hillbillies-had-largely/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/powerful-people-sometimes-do-things-to-help-people-like-me-without/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Research does reveal a genetic disposition to substance abuse, but those who believe their addiction is a disease show less of an inclination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/research-does-reveal-a-genetic-disposition-to-substance-abuse-but/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“But I often wonder: Where would I be without them? I think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/but-i-often-wonder-where-would-i-be-without-them-i-think/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“the first impulse is escape, but people who lurch toward the exit rarely choose the right door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/the-first-impulse-is-escape-but-people-who-lurch-toward-the-exit/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“A young man was sitting at home when a terrible rainstorm began. Within hours, the man’s house began to flood, and someone came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/a-young-man-was-sitting-at-home-when-a-terrible-rainstorm-began/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“To this day, being able to “take advantage” of someone is the measure in my mind of having a parent. For me and Lindsay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/to-this-day-being-able-to-take-advantage-of-someone-is-the-measure-in/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As one book, Appalachian Odyssey, notes about the influx of hill people to Detroit: “It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-one-book-appalachian-odyssey-notes-about-the-influx-of-hill-people/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a 2011 Brookings Institution study found, “compared to 2000, residents of extreme-poverty neighborhoods in 2005–09 were more likely to be white, native-born, high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-2011-brookings-institution-study-found-compared-to-2000/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“We spend to pretend that we’re upper-class. And when the dust clears—when bankruptcy hits or a family member bails us out of our stupidity—there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/we-spend-to-pretend-that-we-re-upper-class-and-when-the-dust-clears/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire-chaos-begets-chaos/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“other words, bad neighborhoods no longer plague only urban ghettos; the bad neighborhoods have spread to the suburbs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/other-words-bad-neighborhoods-no-longer-plague-only-urban-ghettos-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) [Explore all 127 J.D. Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## More Family quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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He slipped his hand around hers. "Friends," he repeated roughly. Her smile was bright enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/she-knew-how-to-play-him-so-very-well-he-slipped-his-hand-around-hers/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [As a family, we all loved the Flyers. To me, rooting for the Flyers were how I bonded with my dad especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/as-a-family-we-all-loved-the-flyers-to-me-rooting-for-the-flyers-were/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [The people have always been family to me here in Las Vegas. 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