You're right about some of this, but you're forgetting the most powerful magnetic force that motivates humans to be awesome: the spirit of enterprise. Many left wing Americans like to assign a "capitalist pig" badge to US society as though it were the greediest, most moneygrubbing and materialist society on the planet. Far from it. Russians, Chinese, and many societies from emerging markets are 100x more materialist, greedy, and money-is-everything in setting their life priorities. Their problem is that, living in a shithole country where institutional corruption is endemic and pervasive, it is harder to build a business and grow from small entrepreneur to successful entrepreneur. So they come to western countries: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and other less-corrupt nations. You need to experience the stifling effect that corruption has on society before you can understand why America is so compelling. You live in Turkey and you own a small Pizza parlor. You pay taxes but you also pay protection money and you also have to pay cash under the table to every public official dipshit who does an inspection, signs you up for electricity, trash removal etc. And when you don't behave, your business burns down. You can't win. Politicians and in concert with the local mafia and with large scale organized crime. You will die if you know something you shouldn't know. Of course in the end you'll want to move your dream to a less corrupt country! Emerging markets will always be emerging. Western civilization will always be under threat. And it will always hold the attraction of offering a place to dream of being successful, without the sabotaging effect of mafia-ridden countries, which is unfortunately most of the non-rich world.