The central idea of America, which has invigorated the country for more than 240 years, is that anyone who wants a better life can come here and make one.

Unlike other countries, in other words, where "class" and "birth rank" and other luck of the birth-draw determine one's station in life, America is different. America is the land of self-determination.

Work hard in America, this story goes, and you'll get rewarded for it. In America, your station in life is all about you. Just look at Andrew Carnegie! Bill Gates! Steve Jobs!

This self-determination "American Dream" is deeply important to the American psyche. It has helped the country build the most vibrant economy in the world. It has made millions of Americans rich. It has also, unfortunately, allowed us to justify inequality that is appalling to just about every other developed country in the world.

So what if the richest 1% of Americans control a third of the country's wealth, this story goes--they deserve to. The other 99% are just a bunch of lazy bastards with their hands out.

If that were actually true--if the riches of the richest Americas were entirely a product of their own efforts and value to society--America's increasing inequality might be more tolerable. But, increasingly, it isn't.

Yes, it's still possible for people to go from rags to riches in this country, and that's a great thing. But it's also increasingly unusual.

As the chart below shows, America now has less "social mobility" than most European countries. Increasingly in America, your "station in life" is determined by your parents' station in life--even more so than in the European countries that earlier generations of Americans were so desperate to escape.

See Also: 15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America