> So imagine my horror at discovering that the United States is more calcified by class than Britain, especially toward the top. The American myth of meritocrac

> So imagine my horror at discovering that the United States is more calcified by class than Britain, especially toward the top. The American myth of meritocracy allows people on the highest rung to attribute their position to their brilliance and diligence, rather than to luck or a rigged system. Conspicuously missing from this op-ed is the experience of millions of immigrant families who came to the United States and worked hard to make it into the top 20%. Many started with practically nothing. Did they all benefit from pure luck? Did they move to the U.S. to take advantage of a rigged system? This seems to blow quite a big hole in the author's specious argument.