There seems to be a real tradeoff in how the Americas vs the old world see 'coming from a good family'. Our mythology on this side of the pond is so focused on

There seems to be a real tradeoff in how the Americas vs the old world see 'coming from a good family'. Our mythology on this side of the pond is so focused on the idea that everyone is inherently equal and capable of achieving great things, that we celebrate and even embellish when someone successfully changes their social class. The downside is that we lack a sense of nobless oblige. the idea that much will be demanded of those to whom much is given doesn't mesh well with our values of universal humanism - people born to privilege on this side of the pond seem to have more of a sense of guilt than duty about that fact.