In its survey of American exceptionalism, the Economist reports on some polls:

asked which is more important--that the government should guarantee no one is in need, or that it should not constrain the pursuit of personal goals--Europeans in both east and west come down roughly two-thirds/one-third in favour of a safety net, whereas Americans split two-thirds/one-third the other way.
asked which is more important--that the government should guarantee no one is in need, or that it should not constrain the pursuit of personal goals--Europeans in both east and west come down roughly two-thirds/one-third in favour of a safety net, whereas Americans split two-thirds/one-third the other way.

Asked,

"Do you agree or disagree that success is determined by forces outside your control?" In most countries, fewer than half thought that success was within their control. In only two did more than 60% consider success a matter of individual effort: Canada and, by the widest margin, the United States.

Individualistic Americans!

Scott Atran talks about "'fundamental attribution error,' a tendency for people to explain behavior in terms of individual personality traits, even when significant situational factors in the larger society are at work", so this is further grist for his mill, but after all, sometimes people are in charge of their destiny.