THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD!!!


In 1931 historian James Truslow Adams popularized the term “American Dream.” Adams described the American Dream as a dream “life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (1).

The Great Depression challenged that. Unemployment reached twenty-five percent. Lines for the soup kitchens stretched for blocks. Families were evicted and homeless. America was plunged into a situation which didn’t allow its citizens to grow and advance. Despite Americans not being able to achieve their true potential, the dream endured.
Americans were asked if there should be a limit to how much one can earn, where money earned above the wage cap would be collected by the federal government. Despite the economic hardship, 61% of the respondents answered “no.” (1).

Why?

I believe it’s because of the American Dream still burning in their hearts. The dream includes struggle and hard work. The dream includes humble beginnings. And of course, the dream promises fortune. While they may be at the bottom of the economic ladder, but they envision themselves scaling up it. They see themselves sitting up at the top of that socio-economic ladder one day and don’t want to place a cap on themselves.

Americans dream of wealth, and to restrict the income of anyone would restrict the American Dream. No more fantasizing of a vast estate with servants and a gold-plated yacht. No diamond-encrusted watches and high social status.

What we do have is a limit, a ceiling. We can have a young genius with the potential to reshape the world, but the government would not allow him to fulfill his dream. The American dream is no longer up to the individual’s potential, but to the limits which the government allows. Americans would no longer look up into the sky and reach for the stars, but they would rather stare up at the oppressive ceiling which never allow them to gaze towards their dreams.

Has anything changed since then? Well today we certainly have better cars, planes which break the sound barrier, and televisions in nearly every home. We have greater racial diversity and backgrounds. We live in a complex time with tension and division between neighbors, friends, and family. Has the leap to the 21st century changed our view on the American Dream?

According to the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University’s poll consisting of 1200 people, it has. Forty-nine percent of those polled believed the government should take action to limit the income of CEO’s. Thirty-five believed the government should take no action (2).

Compare the 61% who opposed government intervention in the 30’s to the significantly smaller 35% of today. Note the increase in Americans who believe the government SHOULD intervene: 30% to 49%.

Is the American Dream dying? Or is it simply changing? Perhaps the American Dream is now s phenomena of the past, which only survives in textbooks. Or perhaps the American Dream is evolving. Do people of the 21st century care more about ease of life instead of wealth? 
Now there's some food for thought


(1)      Hanson, S. L., & White, J. K. (2011). The American dream in the 21st century. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

(2)              Americans and CEO Pay: 2016 Public Perception Survey on CEO Compensation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 01, 2017, from https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/americans-ceo-pay-2016-public-perception-survey-ceo-compensation







Comments

  1. Erin_LallySeptember 1, 2017 at 12:27 AM

    I love your take on the American Dream in the 21st century. You’re questioning and looking at it from a perspective most people don’t. You’re questioning what people want to hear, which is that it’s changing and what may actually be happening, which is that it’s a thing of the past. I think people now are so used to having things handed to them and being able to get their own way and when someone is better off than them they complain instead of working harder. Americans in the thirties and forties were more focused on helping everyone reach their goals and when you did great things you were rewarded not punished. They were taught to work hard and that’s how you would get where you wanted to be. In order to keep the American Dream alive but also change it to fit into todays standard we have to learn to focus on ourselves and work hard to earn our accomplishments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Erin FlewSeptember 2, 2017 at 9:56 AM

    You raise some important questions about the role of the government. We'll revisit the discussion of the role of government in Chomsky next week. Thanks, Andrew.

    ReplyDelete

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