The comparison contrasts two orientations towards time. One society is described as measuring life by what is still ahead — the next goal, the next stage — while the other is portrayed as placing more weight on established position, inheritance and the present state of things.

The closing phrase borrows philosophical language. Becoming refers to continual change and process; being refers to settled existence. Applied to a way of life, it suggests a person defined by trajectory rather than by what they currently are, with identity tied to progress rather than to arrival.

The formulation is neutral about which is preferable. A future-directed outlook supports enterprise and mobility, but leaves little room for rest or satisfaction; a settled one offers stability at the cost of movement.

Full quotation

“The American lives even more for his goals, for the future, than the European. Life for him is always becoming, never being. In this respect he is even further removed from the Russian and the Asiatic than the European is.”