The American Dream: Social Mobility And The American Dream

Social Mobility and the American Dream

The American dream was conceived in the Declaration of Independence. It became part of Americas character. It gave the American people certain unalienable rights that included life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The American dream is the ethos of the United States, It set the ideals for America; however, times have changed since the constitution was written, and people 's view of the American dream have also changed. I would agree that the American dream is more difficult to see in action these days, although not impossible to achieve. The economy 's recession is one of the large factors, American 's have just been trying to survive to feed their families. These are tough and weary times

The American values system have also been on the decline, from corporate greed to the entitlement generation. When corporate executive officers of corporate America make three hundred and eighty times more than the ordinary worker today, and the top wage earners on the social stratosphere pay fewer taxes than the average worker. They have what it seems a cultural capital and advantage to have a higher status than most of the American 's. It is hard to imagine that the upward social mobility of today is attainable. The nation 's social mobility is dependent on the overall structure of social statuses and occupations. United Nations health economist and author Dr. Howard Friedman stated in a news interview with CNN that, "The land of opportunity is not what it used to be. In a time where safety, health, and democracy are on the decline. America now has the highest pre- and post- income adjustment of all countries." The best overall income equality were found in Japan, Spain, Korea, and Italy, although America does still excel in areas of education, having some of the best colleges in the world, as well as Hospitals, technology, and entrepreneurship. Having the money to attend some of these prestigious

Merton developed the theory of “self-fulfilling prophecy”. What it mean is that individuals can tell themselves something like, “I 'm poor class, my family has always been poor, there 's no chance I 'm ever going to be rich” and even though this statement had the potential not to end up being true, it became true simply because the individual deemed it to be true, so it became reality. I find this theory to be true, myself being a natural optimist. Thoughts become actions. What we believe we become. Life choices made by people determine the social stratosphere and whether or not they will move up or down on the social mobility ladder. While people often must struggle, they are not sentenced to stay at that same life chance they 've been given. To the single mother of four children living on government support, not bettering herself with the necessary tools to get ahead, Who is upset that her best friend gets to travel the world with her college degree. Different life choices chose this way of