none of them specifically, but something they share on a different level.

life is measured by individual achievement, self-actualization through work, being ordinary is failure as you're supposed to present and perform. none of those cultures differ much on that, though maybe on how much you're allowed to express preferences vs. that.

why does this thread read as escapism to so many? because it's a cultural norm people are not aware of, and it gets violated.

> life is measured by individual achievement, self-actualization through work, being ordinary is failure as you're supposed to present and perform.

That is very American, even specifically American right wing masculinity point of view. Not generalized western one.

> none of those cultures differ much on that, though maybe on how much you're allowed to express preferences vs. that.

Oh yeah, they do differ on that exact point by a lot.

As you’re not providing any quantifiable argument either, it seems to me this discussion doesn’t need to continue.