I will take a swing at this from a socioeconomic perspective.
There is something to be said for "you are a product of your environment". If all you've ever known is poverty, for example, you probably are not exposed to all the potential resources available. In fact, you might not be aware that some of them even exist. If the people around you are in poverty, as well, with poor education, communicate a certain way, have a life attitude a certain way, no one really to inspire you to do better,...you might not see a way out,...or if you do, it seems totally out of reach. The same thing for the middle classes,...one may see it a significant step up from poverty,...but again, a certain way of communication, life attitude, and still might not see or be able to access all the potential resources available for advancement. The same thing for the wealthy,...a significant step up from the middle classes,...a certain way of communication, life attitude,...but definitely have been able to have the resources available for advancement.
You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you don't have boots. If education and hard work creates wealth, there would be a lot more millionaires in this world. True, there are opportunities that we create ourselves, but some opportunities we must grab when they appear, and there are also opportunities that are gifted to us. (1). Life has taught me that as one works up the socioeconomic ladder, there are more of those "gifted" opportunities. (2). As you work down the socioeconomic ladder, self-esteem and confidence also tend to drop, making it less likely that opportunities will be created or grabbed when they appear. (3). As you work down the socioeconomic ladder, the more likely that those little cultural quotations of acceptance will be taught,..."Money won't make you happy." True, but money can certainly make life a lot easier and a lot more fulfilling if applied correctly. (4). As you work up the socioeconomic ladder, there tends to be an air of intellectual superiority. Granted good nutrition, healthcare, education, do play a part in raising IQ,...but there are a lot of very intelligent people seemingly stuck in poverty. What it appears to be is that the narrative for financial success is quite different for the wealthy as compared to the "consumer classes", the middle and lower classes. (5). As a new investor, I have learned quite a bit recently, and what has become blatantly obvious,..."it takes money to make money". If I have a $100 stock investment and it goes up by 5% today, I made $5. If I have a $1,000,000 stock investment and it goes up by 5% today, I made $50,000. I may purchase 1 share of a stock at a time,...many of these Wall Street "fat cats" will borrow money and purchase lots of stock in the 10's of thousands at a time, they buy low and sell high several times per day, and will make 10's or 100's of thousands of dollars each day,...it's on a scale that boggles my mind.
Perhaps that is part of my problem, as well as others that are below me on the socioeconomic ladder, what is holding me back,...the scale of it. I cannot truly imagine having that level of financial wealth. It may also be said for the wealthy,...they cannot imagine being middle or lower class,...all they've ever known is just "having", resources have always just "been there". Put some effort into your dreams and you can accomplish them,...no problem. What they don't see is that they are starting the race 1 meter from the finish line,...totally oblivious that others may be starting 99 meters behind them in the same race.
I don't "hate the rich". I don't hate "capitalists". I just wish that the lower and middle classes were given the same narrative and opportunities as the wealthy. The socioeconomic system in the US, and likely every other country, is heavily biased towards the wealthy. I used to find it interesting that many of the people living in poverty were also of the same political party as the extremely wealthy. What I later realized is that the poor are just struggling to live on a small amount of money,...so they don't want to pay taxes, pay for schools, give financially to society,..."It's MY money and YOU can't have it." It seems selfish and greedy,...but if you don't have anything and every penny counts, it makes sense. The wealthy,...they write the laws and can "purchase" a senator to make the tax code work in their favor,...it's all legal. They may be in a 40% tax bracket,...but they don't own anything on paper,...it's all part of an LLC,...the houses, the cars, the private planes, the vacations, the investments, everything is part of the business. Make it all look like a financial loss on paper,...no taxes this year. The country runs on the backs of a dwindling middle class,...just enough money to contribute to society, pay taxes, and support the poor,...not enough money to take advantage of the business law and tax code to pull themselves upward.