> He would have envied the opportunities even the bottom 5% of Americans and Germans today have
And most of the top 5% Americans and Germans back than lived in fear of militant strikes, riots and revolutionary workers in general. They would have envied the social peace of modern western societies.
And I don't know when your Great grandfather migrated but one hand you can't draw conclusions from a single persons experiences and on the other hand stories like this have a lot to do with the specific economic situation in his new homeland at that time
He migrated in the early 1900s before the war was forming.
What can we draw conclusions based on? Right now in America every single person has access to the internet where they can access an incredible number of educational materials through libraries. Most college campuses are open and allow for sit ins and, at least in certain states, there are plenty of job opportunities. Not to mention almost all families in poverty today have air conditioning, refrigerators and access to more varieties of food than anyone did 50 years ago.
The economic environment today is incredibly favorable towards those who are willing to work hard and opportunities are boundless for anyone with intelligence willing to seek them. There are strong social factors holding groups and individuals back but social issues cannot be fixed with economic or political action.
> ... for anyone with intelligence willing to seek them ...
As I said:
> Not everybody is fortune enough to be born into such an environment where he/she is able to get a reasonable education ...
And it is not even only about intelligence. If nobody showed you how to learn, you will not be able to just know how to do that on your own at the library or on your computer at home. You will not know where to start or who to ask for help. I also assume that this is why children of academics study at the university while working class children don't. Their parents don't know how to teach their children to learn.
You can make excuses for anyone and everyone in any situation :) But then if the assumption is that no one can learn unless taught, then our ancestors should never have made any progress and inventions....since, who was there to teach them?
And most of the top 5% Americans and Germans back than lived in fear of militant strikes, riots and revolutionary workers in general. They would have envied the social peace of modern western societies.
And I don't know when your Great grandfather migrated but one hand you can't draw conclusions from a single persons experiences and on the other hand stories like this have a lot to do with the specific economic situation in his new homeland at that time