The secrets of American success are transparent yet difficult to quantify. Americans’ pragmatism, opportunism, fair-mindedness, inventiveness, adaptability, optimism, and, above all, their inherent competitiveness offset their tendencies toward violence, impatience, self-righteousness, and unpredictability, their fondness for novelty and celebrity for their own sake, and their self-assertion en masse – getting there, as they like to say, “fastest with the mostest.”
美国成功的秘密其实显而易见，但却无法详细说明。美国人的实用主义、机会主义、公平精神、创造力，乐观主义以及内在的好胜心抵消了那些暴力，焦躁，自以为是和恣意妄为的倾向。他们钟情于名流和新奇玩意，但都是为了取悦自己，还有他们共同的自信与坚持——争取成功，正如他们常说的那样：“投入最多人马并在第一时间到达（南北战争时弗瑞斯特将军的名言）”。