[colevscode]

I don't think it's a two way link. That a pre-occupation with monetary success implies self motivation and entrepreneurship doesn't mean that the reverse is also true.

Also I think it's OK that the American Dream is about individual economic mobility. But I don't think it's about the individual, rather it's about the idea that any individual can achieve their dream. Or perhaps that there aren't a set of people who can and others who cannot.

Whether or not American politics have been faithful to the American Dream is a separate discussion.