Putting it into perspective...

[burkbuilds]

I think Mercutio's original point was simply that we often fail to realize how well off we are and don't always appreciate what we have. Hope I'm not putting words into your mouth Mercutio. As Alan points out, there are definitely movers and shakers and followers and hangers on in every society. I'd also like to point out that some societies have more opportunities available to the general population to improve their economic situation in life, and yes Alan some, but not all, of that is directly a result of corruption in their local "system" whether it's capitalist, communist, socialist, whatever. dhgeyer makes an excellent point to ponder when he states that, "we (not all of us, but most) have become way too involved with the process of consumption beyond what is needed, or even healthy, for a good life." If you don't agree, just go out in public, sit down and observe how many overweight, obese, people you see in an hour, not to mention our "over consumption" of material goods. (Does anybody really need a hummer?) All of that is okay in my opinion unless the theorists are correct and I'm only able to enjoy this level of living, not because I work hard, or have made good decision, or even simply because by "luck of the draw" I happen to live in a prosperous country, but instead is because my country is exploiting people in another part of the world and subjecting them to a state of living that leaves the majority of them unable to access clean drinking water, any form of health care, and a short and miserable life. Our country was founded on the principle of everyone having the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, do we share in the blame for making it impossible for those in other countries to have those same "rights"? Liberty, by definition, is the ability to choose to try to do what you want as long as it does not harm another or prevent them from exercising their ability to choose to try to do what they want. As for the Pursuit of happiness clause, that was simply our founding father's compromise on wording because it sounds a lot more noble than John Locke's wording of "the right to own property".
Hey, this is getting way deeper than I expected in a motorcycle forum, but I do think it's worth asking ourselves if we bear some responsibility and if so what should we do in response. If we honestly take a look and conclude that it's not our fault, we have no responsibility then that's okay, but it shouldn't prevent us from asking the questions and looking for an honest answer.