Or possibly Japan. Because if it's social mobility you're after, the USA (followed closely by the UK) is the worst place to live on Earth, according to Richard Wilkinson, professor emeritus of social epidemiology at the University of Nottingham.

His research has shown that the more unequal a country - ie, the greater the gap between rich and poor - the less people trust each other, the more heart disease they suffer, the greater number of murders there are, and the higher level of mental illness they suffer.

Status anxiety, according to Wilkinson, isn't some sort of existential malaise: it affects all people in all walks of life and entire nation states. If you really want to tackle diabetes or teenage pregnancy, or infant mortality, or depression, he argues, then you need to restrain City bonuses and raise taxes.