"The American Dream is dead."For decades, critics have proclaimed the American Dream is dead. Donald Trump has recently proclaimed it. Bernie Sanders has said that "for many, the American dream has become a nightmare." And indeed, those who say so can back up their claims with numbers. But before we do so, we need to ask,
What is the American Dream?
The American Dream, according to Dictionary.com, is the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. Practically, this is the idea that somebody can start with nothing and end up rich.
Social Mobility
Social Mobility
A key concept related to this is whether social mobility has increased or decreased. According to Gregory Clark, a researcher at UC Davis, social mobility has indeed decreased. He says that America's social mobility was no different than "medieval England or pre-industrial Sweden."
Public Opinion of the American Dream
According to the Washington Post, which cites information from a Fusion 2016 Issues Poll (check here), the share of young white Americans who said that American Dream "isn't really alive". Interstingly enough, this has only equalized the proportions among young people of whites and young people of color. Although whites were half as likely as blacks to say the American dream is dead back in 1986, it is now roughly equal.
The New American Dream
The old American dream could often be invoked by the image of a house, a white picket fence, with a car, 2 children, and a dog.
Among modern youth, they are much more likely to say that starting a startup is the American Dream. In the era of Facebook, Twitter, or Apple, companies started by young Americans, startups topped the list of American Dream Components.
Personally, I don't think the American Dream is dead. The Internet has liberalized education, providing courses from top Universities to the general public (Coursera, Udacity, edX, etc.), programming has allowed anybody with an idea and skills to start a startup.
However, I will note that this freedom is not open to all fields. Those in mechanical engineering, business, etc. have not had their paths become easier. It is only inside the field of entrepreneurship (where programming reigns supreme) that all these paths are available.
No longer is the path to success limited to the university -> smart investing/ large family inheritance -> success. Many modern entrepreneurs decry the importance of an university education, and increasingly among the startup world, the programming skills of an applicant has taken precedence over the school on their degree.
Questions:
1. Do you think the American Dream is dead? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the role of programming in the American Dream?
Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american-dream
http://economyincrisis.org/content/economist-ive-crunched-the-numbers-and-the-american-dream-is-dead
Photo: Banksy
Public Opinion of the American Dream
According to the Washington Post, which cites information from a Fusion 2016 Issues Poll (check here), the share of young white Americans who said that American Dream "isn't really alive". Interstingly enough, this has only equalized the proportions among young people of whites and young people of color. Although whites were half as likely as blacks to say the American dream is dead back in 1986, it is now roughly equal.
The New American Dream
The old American dream could often be invoked by the image of a house, a white picket fence, with a car, 2 children, and a dog.
Among modern youth, they are much more likely to say that starting a startup is the American Dream. In the era of Facebook, Twitter, or Apple, companies started by young Americans, startups topped the list of American Dream Components.
Personally, I don't think the American Dream is dead. The Internet has liberalized education, providing courses from top Universities to the general public (Coursera, Udacity, edX, etc.), programming has allowed anybody with an idea and skills to start a startup.
However, I will note that this freedom is not open to all fields. Those in mechanical engineering, business, etc. have not had their paths become easier. It is only inside the field of entrepreneurship (where programming reigns supreme) that all these paths are available.
No longer is the path to success limited to the university -> smart investing/ large family inheritance -> success. Many modern entrepreneurs decry the importance of an university education, and increasingly among the startup world, the programming skills of an applicant has taken precedence over the school on their degree.
Questions:
1. Do you think the American Dream is dead? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the role of programming in the American Dream?
Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american-dream
http://economyincrisis.org/content/economist-ive-crunched-the-numbers-and-the-american-dream-is-dead
Photo: Banksy
