That faith in perfectibility appears to have retreated in American life. It lives on in weight-loss programs and self-help books — or, more seriously, in a more open devotion to religion than commonly found in overwhelmingly secular Europe. But the belief that you might die in a markedly better existence than the one you came into is fading. And for good reason: a study published last year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that Americans now experience lower social mobility than prevails in almost any other rich country.- From ANAND GIRIDHARADAS
(Reviving the Idea of America)