---
title: "Say People Determine Own Success"
description: "That's the percentage of Americans who disagree with the idea that success in life is mostly determined by forces outside a person's control."
date: "2007-07-17"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2007/07/17/say-people-determine-own-success/"
---

# Say People Determine Own Success

Most Americans (62%) disagree with the idea that success is mostly determined by forces outside a person’s control, but 34% agree with this sentiment; in 2003, the public dismissed the idea that success is largely outside of one’s control by a slightly wider margin (67%-30%). Stark racial differences exist on this question as blacks continue to feel less empowered than whites. About half of African Americans (48%) say success in life is largely determined by forces outside of one’s control, compared with 31% of whites. A decade ago, the racial differences in views of personal empowerment were much narrower. Fewer than four-in-ten African Americans (38%) and 31% of whites said that success was mostly the result of outside forces. But since then, higher percentages of blacks have agreed with this statement. In 2002, 49% said that success was largely determined by outside forces; that number fell to 43% in 2003, and rose to 48% in the current survey. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/434/trends-in-political-values-and-core-attitudes-1987-2007)