I remember discussing this dynamic with my Russian teacher one day, and he had an interesting theory. Having lived under communism for so many generations, with little to no economic opportunity and caged by a culture of fear, Russian society found the most valuable currency to be trust. And to build trust you have to be honest. That means when things suck, you say so openly and without apology. Peoples displays of unpleasant honesty were rewarded for the simple fact that they were necessary for survivalyou had to know whom you could rely on and whom you couldnt, and you needed to know quickly. But, in the free West, my Russian teacher continued, there existed an abundance of economic opportunityso much economic opportunity that it became far more valuable to present yourself in a certain way, even if it was false, than to actually be that way. Trust lost its value. Appearances and salesmanship became more advantageous forms of expression. Knowing a lot of people superficially was more beneficial than knowing a few people closely. This is why it became the norm in Western cultures to smile and say polite things even when you dont feel like it, to tell little white lies and agree with someone whom you dont actually agree with. This is why people learn to pretend to be friends with people they dont actually like, to buy things they dont actually want. The economic system promotes such deception. The downside of this is that you never know, in the West, if you can completely trust the person youre talking to. Sometimes this is the case even among good friends or family members. There is such pressure in the West to be likable that people often reconfigure their entire personality depending on the person theyre dealing with. Rejection Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson