It’s certainly not news that Western Europe is more socialistic than the United States. Still, a recent report in the Economist, as excerpted by Robert Tagorda, illustrates the depth of the cultural differences on this issue:

While 29% of Americans believe that poor people are trapped in poverty, 60% of Europeans share this belief.

While 30% of Americans believe that luck determines income, 54% of Europeans share this belief.

While 60% of Americans believe that poor people are lazy, 24% of Europeans share this belief.

Interesting. Rob has much more.