While President Barack Obama reaffirmed America's commitment to equal opportunity in his second inaugural address, Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz believes it is a myth that modern society offers equal opportunity and high social mobility through mechanisms such as formal education.
虽然总统巴拉克·奥巴马在他的第二次就职演说中重申美国对平等的机会的贡献，但诺贝尔经济学奖得主约瑟夫·斯蒂格利茨却认为在现代社会，提供平等的机会和较高的社会流动机制（例如正式的教育）是一个神话。