[dogman144]

Good take I think. The root of the Grand USA bargain in my view is just what you said - it gives you social space and a civil society framework to try and achieve your own outcomes via capitalism.

Everyone has a different starting hand on how easy this is to do. In my experience, some starting points are crushingly unfair.

However, there is nothing stopping me from trying with the hand I have. The terrain to pick is pretty large as well. I can do these even if my parents aren’t landed nobility or the right caste. The knowledge needed is freely provided somewhere. The professional networks needed can be built out freely. I can move anywhere, and pick any market within at least the US’s domain - every state, every trading partner, and now via the internet every regulated western-ized market. The ways I fail in an unrecoverable way are also somewhat owned by me - don’t bet the farm, don’t take on financial obligations greater than what would lock me out of free choice due to realities of paying a mortgage and so on, if you want kids at 30 start thinking about how to set it up around 20.

These system rules aren’t understood by everyone, but imo doesn’t mean it doesn’t work more or less as designed. And to your last point, people who check into this path tend to check out of the old path and the old path’s complaints.