There was an article in the NY Times last week (posted on HN as well) lamenting the loss of hobbies / personal time. To me it was evident the reasons, even though they were not discussed in the article, and I posit they are the same reasons as yours statement about this "Get rich or die trying" mentality. People don't engage in hobbies/leisure and have adopted this mentality out of fear. If you can't make it to the richer side of society, the alternative is a bad one. We do not have a safety net to speak of in this country, and every study shows that what constitutes an average life here is one full of poor health, poor diet, dull work if it can be found, etc. You can see it in the rising suicide rates! So of course anyone with a clue is going to drop their hobbies and bust tail to try to get ahead. As wealth inequality continues its increase, you'll only see more of this desperation.