It's what you know, who you know, how much you know yourself, how much you know about those who spawned you and what you inherited from them wether it's been acquired or is genetically embeded into your brain and body..., it's about how much those who spawned you cared and care about giving you everything they can to insure your odds of survival... and it's about how much you know other people by reverse engeenering their thought process, which is only possible if you reversed your own thought process. Not everyone is equal but to obtain a satysfying life and rise in society the reciepe has always been the same. People arent dumber or smarter than each others, some are just more mature than others. It's all a matter of growing up spiritually and psychologically.
Most people are underdevelopped, and underfed psychologically, intellectually.
I d also like to mention immigrants who move to occident to better their life because they figured quality of life in their shity home country isnt going anywhere. These people came to the knowledge that somewhere else a better , more tolerant life was possible and it often takes generations before individuals can build the project to leave a place for a better one. It doesnt mean there arent bad immigrants who just come to benefit from welfare and do not want to integrate, actually, most immigrants are useless parasites, but a very small fraction of them actually believe in bettering themselves in occidental societies by studying and working to rise in the social ladder. The system is universal.