The Fallacy of Success

“On every bookstall, in every magazine, you may find works telling people how to succeed. They are books showing men how to succeed in everything; they are written by men who cannot even succeed in writing books.”

These observations establish the main topic and claim of the essay—that books about success are ridiculous. From the beginning of the essay, Chesterton adopts a humorous tone, noting the irony of people who in his estimation fail at their own vocation purporting to explain success.

“To begin with, of course, there is no such thing as Success. Or, if you like to put it so, there is nothing that is not successful. That a thing is successful merely means that it is […].”

Chesterton presents a philosophical yet plain definition of success, strategically underselling his insight as common sense to nudge readers to accept it. His choice of diction—phrases like “of course” and “if you like to put it so”—sets a tone that makes readers feel like privileged confidants in an intimate, sensible conversation.

“[P]assing over the bad logic and bad philosophy in the phrase, we may take it, as these writers do, in the ordinary sense of success in obtaining money or worldly position.”

Chesterton represents the authors of books on success as thoughtless and disingenuous, establishing the theme of The Complexity of Falsehood and the Simplicity of Truth. According to Chesterton, such writers cannot even accurately name what it is they are writing about, but lose their own focus behind abstractions. Here, Chesterton also establishes the definition of success he uses throughout the rest of the essay: material wealth or status.