Brooks is right

I had no idea it was my fault I'm so poor!!

The core assumption is that economic forces determine culture and shape behavior. As William Julius Wilson wrote in "The Truly Disadvantaged," "If ghetto underclass minorities have limited aspirations, a hedonistic orientation toward life or lack of plans for the future, such outlooks ultimately are the result of restricted opportunities and feelings of resignation originating from bitter personal experiences and a bleak future."

Conservatives, on the other hand, believe that liberals have it backward. In reality, culture shapes economics. A person's behavior determines his or her economic destiny. If people live in an environment that fosters industriousness, sobriety, fidelity, punctuality and dependability, they will thrive.

This is absolutely true. A single, childless, college educated white male like myself must only be living paycheck to paycheck (barely) as a result of his hedonistic, valueless, futureless lifestyle. A more responsible, industrious sober fellow would never have wasted so much time in public service searching for some semblance of a fulfilling vocation and instead would have gone straight into investment banking. Everyone knows that if you're not playing the acquisition-of-things game with your life then your priorities simply are not in order. You got me, Brooks. I'm just not trying hard enough, you asshole.

I could go on about what this means for people with fewer "choices" than I have been blessed with.. but that would validate Brooks' argument as somehow worthy of a rebuttal.