In his article "The Plutocratic Culture: Institutions, Values and Ideologies", Michael Parenti writes the following: "The desire to 'make it,' even at the expense of others, is not merely a wrong-headed attitude but a reflection of the material conditions of capitalist society wherein no one is ever economically secure except the super-rich." Explain what he means by this. Also, use some of what was expressed in the "Devil and Dave Chappelle" article to think about Parenti's quote.

When Michael Parenti states "The desire to 'make it,' even at the expense of others, is not merely a wrong-headed attitude but a reflection of the material conditions of capitalist society wherein no one is ever economically secure except the super-rich." , he is basically saying that those who put themselves before others economically don't really have a choice. Micheal believes the government and media has slightly brainwashed people to believe that in order to be happy you must have material things to do so. Advertisments convince Americans that having private things (cars, home, vacation place, etc.) will make us happy, even though we feel more lonely when we get them. Our money we earn should go towards helping the public and others' get by.
Also, with such high prices of material goods, etc. the standards of "making it" are very high. It seems almost like a loose-loose situation because what the government and media advertise as being successful makes us loose focus of what is really important. He believes as though the 'super-rich' are the only ones who have enough money for everything.