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The article's major flaw is lumping all "Americans" together. Life expectancy varies wildly across race and income. America has always chosen to make the desire

The article's major flaw is lumping all "Americans" together. Life expectancy varies wildly across race and income. America has always chosen to make the desires of the rich and powerful more important than the needs of the poor and powerless. We sometimes call this the American Dream. Equality in America isn't about all people having a decent life. It is more akin to Animal Farm: "All animals are equal, but some animals (the rich, the powerful) are more equal than others." I'm not saying this is right, but it is silly to claim that "Americans" are living poor lives, and just as equally silly not to see that America is still the sole hyperpower of the world. This is a long debate in American history, and one still going on: is American hyperpower the result of material inequality and minority exploitation, or is America limiting its potential by letting a significant portion of its population be abused? No one really puts it in those terms, not publicly (one notable exception being 'trickle-down economics'), but this is really at the heart of American politics.

FabHK 9y ago
> it is silly to claim that "Americans" are living poor lives Good point. The funny thing though is that the median American leads a fairly drab life, but still fully subscribes to his own exploitation, if you will. Witness the election of a Republican president, house, and senate. As John Steinbeck is reported to have said, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."
- Trill-I-Am 9y ago
  John Steinbeck never said that. At least not now it’s popularly quoted. https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralPolitics/comments/23ar71/temporarily_embarrassed_millionaires_is_there_any/ https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralPolitics/comments/23ar71/tem...
  - FabHK 9y ago
    However, Ronald Wright reported that he had said it, see the "Disputed" box at the end of the Wikiquote article. EDIT to add: FWIW, it's an insightful aphorism independent of who said it. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck

FabHK 9y ago

> it is silly to claim that "Americans" are living poor lives Good point. The funny thing though is that the median American leads a fairly drab life, but still fully subscribes to his own exploitation, if you will. Witness the election of a Republican president, house, and senate. As John Steinbeck is reported to have said, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."

Trill-I-Am 9y ago
John Steinbeck never said that. At least not now it’s popularly quoted. https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralPolitics/comments/23ar71/temporarily_embarrassed_millionaires_is_there_any/ https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralPolitics/comments/23ar71/tem...
- FabHK 9y ago
  However, Ronald Wright reported that he had said it, see the "Disputed" box at the end of the Wikiquote article. EDIT to add: FWIW, it's an insightful aphorism independent of who said it. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck