It's the inevitable conclusion of American meritocracy. In a world where you can achieve anything, someone without achievements must be incapable or, worse, ap

It's the inevitable conclusion of American meritocracy. In a world where you can achieve anything, someone without achievements must be incapable or, worse, apathetic. Pair that with routine measurement, and it creates a real compounding effect. So parents correctly try to accumulate achievements as early as possible. To get into HFT, you must go an Ivy, for which you need a recommendation at a top high school, etc, etc....and so you need to impress the pre-K director. Even (so-called) failure must be managed strategically. Spend 6 months as a freshman at MIT before dropping out, so everyone knows you're better than the best. Other nations don't do much better. It's a pick your poison situation. But, other nations seem more willing to accept the poison as a necessary evil. The US (systems, not individuals) refuses to see its quirks as anything but a universal good. Still the least bad system out there.