Examples of ideology in the United States include individualism, the superiority of capitalism as an economic system and democracy as a political system, consumerism as a desirable lifestyle, and meritocracy (anyone can succeed if he or she works hard).

We accept terrible poverty because we believe, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, in fluid social mobility. The myth of the self-made man and equal opportunity—never entirely wrong—lets us live with extreme inequalities of result. The vast majority of Americans describe themselves as middle class, even if their incomes and educations