Political and technological developments are rapidly obliterating all cultural differences and it is possible that, in a not remote future, it will be impossible to distinguish human beings living on one area of the earth s surface from those, living on any other. The most striking difference between an American and a European is the difference in their attitudes towards money. Every European knows that, in Europe, wealth could only be acquired at the expense of other human beings, either by conquering them or by exploiting their labor in factories. Even after the Industrial Revolution began, the number of persons who could rise from poverty to wealth was small; the vast majority took it for granted that they would not be much richer or poorer than their fathers. In consequence, no European associates wealth with personal merit or poverty with personal failure. In the United States, wealth was also acquired by stealing, but the real exploited victim was not a human being but poor Mother Earth and her resources which were ruthlessly plundered. Thanks to the natural resources of the country, every American, until quite recently, could reasonably look forward to making more money that his father so that if he made less, the fault must be his; he was either lazy or inefficient. What an_ American values, therefore, is not the possession of money as such, but his power to make it as a proof of his manhood; once he has proved himself by making it. it has served its function and can be lost or given away. In no society in history have rich men given away-so large a part of their fortunes. To Americans, the failure to surpass one’s father in income indicates

Political and technological developments are rapidly obliterating all cultural differences and it is possible that, in a not remote future, it will be impossible to distinguish human beings living on one area of the earth s surface from those, living on any other. The most striking difference between an American and a European is the difference in their attitudes towards money. Every European knows that, in Europe, wealth could only be acquired at the expense of other human beings, either by conquering them or by exploiting their labor in factories. Even after the Industrial Revolution began, the number of persons who could rise from poverty to wealth was small; the vast majority took it for granted that they would not be much richer or poorer than their fathers. In consequence, no European associates wealth with personal merit or poverty with personal failure. In the United States, wealth was also acquired by stealing, but the real exploited victim was not a human being but poor Mother Earth and her resources which were ruthlessly plundered. Thanks to the natural resources of the country, every American, until quite recently, could reasonably look forward to making more money that his father so that if he made less, the fault must be his; he was either lazy or inefficient. What an_ American values, therefore, is not the possession of money as such, but his power to make it as a proof of his manhood; once he has proved himself by making it. it has served its function and can be lost or given away. In no society in history have rich men given away-so large a part of their fortunes. To Americans, the failure to surpass one’s father in income indicates—

A A dislike of inherited wealth

B A lack of proper application on one's part

C The effects of a guilty I conscience

D A fear of the burden j inherent in success

Solution

Correct Answer: Option B

Solution

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