Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality

In Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality, the authors argue that the stronger individualism and weaker structuralism found in the U.S. compared to much of Europe ensures that American politicians do not face the same degree of pressure that European politicians do to develop and/or maintain robust and structurally-oriented social policies.

Combined with racism and features of the American political system, this works to limit the generosity and effectiveness of anti-poverty and inequality-reduction efforts in the U.S.

This helps explain why the U.S. compares so poorly to other wealthy countries on measures of overall poverty, childhood poverty, economic inequality, and social mobility.