I find this topic very interesting and something that comes pretty close to home. I come from an eastern-block immigrant background where capitalism and individ

I find this topic very interesting and something that comes pretty close to home. I come from an eastern-block immigrant background where capitalism and individualism, ideas that allowed the west to rapidly develop and innovate, were actively suppressed. My parents were a successful part of the intelligentsia in their home country, and despite putting in the hours and working hard, but after successive setbacks, this success didn't translate that well in the west. I consider both of them wealthy in many areas but at the same time poor by western standards. While I'd rate them highly on individualism, I wouldn't rate them on their ability to capitalise on opportunities. I know many people who made it out of the old eastern block who have been amazingly successful by western standards, and it's puzzled me to no end, why intelligent people such as my parents never made it. Many possibilities come to mind: - Making it out alive was in itself a mark of success for them - Their way of thinking did not adapt to the west's and they got stuck in a "poor" state of mind - Bad luck In any case, I can attest, that changing this way of thinking is not an easy task.