We all have the theoretical option to work. We may not have the skills or attributes for a particular employment, but we can choose whether or not to try. Realistically, some doors may be closed – I was never going to be a successful model, or a professional footballer, or a rock star – but within my abilities, I was able to make some choices. I could have chosen differently, but my actual choices dictated my path through life. Some things I couldn’t choose – for example, I was never able to choose who my superiors at work were – but there were always choices. I couldn’t choose to be cleverer, or more talented, but then, I suspect that’s a universal truth.
Government cannot legislate to make all of life fair. It cannot, for example, require that everyone should be successful. But what it can (and I think, should) do is to ensure a level playing field, where all people with similar qualities should have equal opportunities. There isn’t a threat posed by someone becoming successful; they simply serve as a useful example. Their elevation probably presents opportunities for some others. The flip side of this is (I think) that we shouldn’t have ideas beyond our abilities. There can be no right, obviously, for just anyone to become a professional footballer. So, people with little talent for football probably shouldn’t aim to become professionals. But I also think that if one has a burning interest in a particular arena or discipline, then pursuing a career in that arena is appropriate. After all, even if one can’t be a rock star, one can always work as a roadie, can’t one?