[heterodoxxed]

> Something in their upbringing gave them this immense sense of worth

Is there an abundance of this in Japanese culture that I wasn't aware of?

[jmchuster]

Probably just an abundance of this in humans in general?

A lovely John Steinbeck paraphrase/misquote from another thread:

"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."

[kjrose]

We live in an age of underappreciated princes with no fiefdoms.