Charlie Munger: Be a Survivor, Not a Victim

Of course, feeling like it's rather interesting to make change. Some people are victimized by other people, and if it weren't for the indignation that that causes, we wouldn't have the reforms that we need.

But that truth is mixed with another. It's very counterproductive for an individual to feel like a victim. Even if his best attitude is just to be cheerful about everything and keep plugging along. Therefore, I don't like politicians that get ahead by trying to make everybody else feel like a victim. They make my flesh crawl, and I just don't believe in it.

Of course, who wants to be a victim instead of a survivor? Of course, we want to! But feeling like a victim, you can recognize your position is bad and try and improve it. That's okay. But to have a deep feeling of victimhood and think it's all somebody else's fault is a very counterproductive way to think.

People don't even like being around it; it's really stupid. Yet our politicians build on it and try and make their careers work by doing something that's very bad for all the people they're talking to. They think they're doing the world's work. You know, it's crazy. It's absolutely crazy.