&gt;as the ability for anybody to attain the &quot;American Dream&quot; without having to work for it.<p>It&#x27;s not impossible to get ahead in a socialist economy, it&#x27;s just that the bar is raised for the lower classes.<p>I think you&#x27;re hitting on a bigger problem with American culture, which is the &quot;hard working&quot; bias.  Is the employee who comes in at 7am and leaves at 7pm really a better person?