note the lack of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" sentiment here in 1730s Georgia.

How does this happen?

Is it the idea of "personal responsibility" and "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" philosophy combined with lack of any actual support and/or education?

There has to be a better phrase or word to define the perverse sort of philosophy espoused by many in the Republican party about this sort of "personal responsibility".

It feels somewhat akin to the idea of privatize profits and socialize the losses. The social loss is definitely one that is pushed off onto the individual, but who's profiting? Is it really so expensive to fix this problem? Isn't the loss to society and public health akin to the Million Dollar Murray problem?

Wouldn't each individual's responsibility be better tied to the collective good as well as their own outcomes? How can the two be bound together to improve outcomes for everyone all around?

Skimmed opening paragraphs in physical newspaper. Want to revisit. This sounds like the sort of "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps" that actually works.

https://ideas.time.com/2012/09/07/the-myth-of-bootstrapping/

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-pulling-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-myth-explained

We know enough about psychology and behavioral economics to know that "personal responsibility" is not going to save us.

This is in even higher relief when we see laws applied in unclosed systems or where other loopholes exist to help the privileged. Frank Wilhot's idea sums things up fairly well:

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-nonsense_n_5b1ed024e4b0bbb7a0e037d4

When I lecture in Intro to Socy, I spend a great deal of time on this statement to help them grasp the fundamentals of the sociological imagination. While network theory may seem like common sense, it directly challenges the ideology of individualism and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. If you accept that others influence you, then you have to begin to accept the realities of privilege and discrimination. This can often be too much cognitively, particularly for privileged students who prefer to think of their benefits as wholly earned. SNA reveals how inequality is produced and reproduced.

I too believe this is common sense. This is why I am always struck by how tightly people hold to the 'pull yourself up by your bootstaps' model of thinking. It also reveals how you can tell ideology from practice. Those who profess the bootstraps also move their children to good schools and neighborhoods b/c they know this is common sense. Does this make sense?