> socialist countries restrict the rewards to the extremely talented, whereas America does no such thing (at a cost to the bottom half of its bell curve). This

> socialist countries restrict the rewards to the extremely talented, whereas America does no such thing (at a cost to the bottom half of its bell curve). This is just not the common case. Generally speaking, the US does give disproportionate rewards to the 'high-end' of the curve so to speak. However this often comes at a cost to everyone else(or the following generation) whether they realize it or not. It's simply harder to notice this happening when it's spread over a generation or two. Examples being health care, the economic pyramid schemes, 'education', care of veterans etc. Top tier American schools are highly-overrated and highly overpriced these days. They are a much bigger and slower bubble to burst over here. http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/ http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-el... I believe the key phrase in this article is "entitled mediocrity". The author also spent at least 25 years as a scholar and then Professor at Yale and Columbia. With all that being said, America is still a great place. It just might be better not to look for the rewards in all the popular places and using the popular methods.