I think part of it is that in social position in large parts of Europe has come to be less dependent on money, and social welfare systems and strong labour movements driving salaries up have created a situation where there's less cultural pressure towards seeing money as a proxy for worth.
On the extreme end, there was a survey mentioned in Norwegian papers before christmas which stated that the majority of Norwegians believed they earned the equivalent of about $16,000/year more than they need.
That doesn't mean many wouldn't love to have more. But if you feel you're making $16,000/year more than you need, then it takes something other than money before you start taking big risks.
Of course Norway is an extreme given the income levels, but I feel that the general attitude of "having enough" or even more than you need is more prevalent in Europe - across income classes - than it seems to be in the US.
It's different from lack of ambition: Many of the same people who feel they have enough money, still want very much to reach some hard to reach goal. But choices can get very different if money isn't an important part of setting those goals.
On the extreme end, there was a survey mentioned in Norwegian papers before christmas which stated that the majority of Norwegians believed they earned the equivalent of about $16,000/year more than they need.
That doesn't mean many wouldn't love to have more. But if you feel you're making $16,000/year more than you need, then it takes something other than money before you start taking big risks.
Of course Norway is an extreme given the income levels, but I feel that the general attitude of "having enough" or even more than you need is more prevalent in Europe - across income classes - than it seems to be in the US.
It's different from lack of ambition: Many of the same people who feel they have enough money, still want very much to reach some hard to reach goal. But choices can get very different if money isn't an important part of setting those goals.