The Myth of Self-Reliance: An encounter with Emerson’s essays
There&#x27;s a difference between relying on others in general and relying on some specific entity or some particular way of doing things.<p>In general, I rely on lots of people. But for the most part, I choose who I rely on, and in some cases the set of people I rely on changes over time. I value that choice and the freedom to change.<p>The distinction is important. If you rely on a single person or entity, they have some kind of claim to your success or failure. If you rely on people in general but nobody specifically, then your success or failure is attributable to you, and that&#x27;s what &quot;self-reliance&quot; means to me.<p>I&#x27;m not suggesting that self-reliance is all-important or an unqualified good. But I don&#x27;t think that it&#x27;s a myth, either. You don&#x27;t have to be abandoned in the jungle as a baby to be called self-reliant.