ipl-logo

Explain Why The American Dream Is Still Alive

1143 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Working conditions during the first industrial revolution

Nhat Anh Nguyen
Prof. Standford
WRI102
10/03/15
American Dream, Are You Still Alive? I came to the United States for the first time in 2011, and I was grateful to be a part of the country's culture that promotes diversity and hard work. Hard work is really important, because it is what American Dream bases on, and American Dream has been the principle of Americans since the creation of this country. Although the Dream and its ideas are great, I wonder if it is still alive after we discussed Krugman, Piketty, Friedman and a lot other brilliant economists' articles. I have constructed myself a way to look at American Dream after this half of the semester: It is still alive, but it is dying really quickly. Why? For this matter, I would love to discuss …show more content…

This is the United States' economy based on, and as Americans people move towards it, the inevitable wealth gap between the top one percent and the rest makes sense. The main goal of capitalism, or of many big corporations today is to reduce the costs of productions and make the most profits out of it. As the more successful they are to become at this goal, the routine workers - the main populations of the United States - started to find out that their income is nowhere near that of the executives of those big corporations. Robert Reich discussed this problem in his brilliant article "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer". He categorized the people in three boats, of which two are sinking, and one is rising. Routine production workers are on one boat, and unfortunately that boat happens to be sinking quickly. The author stated, "Twelve thousand people are added to the world's population every hour, most of whom, eventually, will happily work for small fraction of the wages of routine producers in America." (Reich 405) This is the statement about

Show More
Related

Cal Thomas And Brandon King Analysis

1479 Words | 6 Pages

Cal Thomas’s paper is not totally against the idea of the American dream dying but, works to explain why it is dying while Brandon King’s essay stresses that the American dream is more alive than ever and goes on to prove why. When comparing Cal Thomas’s writing to Brandon King’s writing three main points were used which were discussing the American dream in regards to each writer, the second point covered texts or outside writing used in each author’s paper, finally the third point went over each author’s views on the American dream today and what in their paper proved their

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Brandon King The American Dream

1116 Words | 5 Pages

The American Dream has a different meaning from what it once was, but according to Brandon King it is still alive. His beginning question, “What is the true state of the so-called ‘American Dream’ today” (Page #610, Para. #1) appeals to his audience’s own thoughts of his or her own personal beliefs for their futures. Most people have an idea of what they want in life, and their dream may not be the rags to riches dream of yesteryear, but is uniquely theirs.

Read More

Summary Of The American Dream Dead Alive By Brandon King

1309 Words | 6 Pages

The American dream is more alive than it ever has been. A recently published essay “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” written by Indiana University law student Brandon King, exposes readers to a few different approaches to fixing the United States economy. King begins his essay by discussing how within recent years the American population has been exposed to the national debt crisis, stock plummets, high unemployment and surviving through this Great Recession. As a reader you assume that with this deteriorating economy that American’s would lose hope and dread being poor, however King states that 72% of Americans still believe they could become bankrupt and be able to generate wealth again by hard work and determination alone. That

Read More

Money Dana Gioia Analysis

941 Words | 4 Pages

The American Dream is only accessible to those who work hard and to those who make a lot of money; the two concepts that highlight this point deal with labor and wealth. To begin with,

Read More

Summary: There Will Come Soft Rain

939 Words | 4 Pages

Referred to in countless works and criticized in others, the American dream has long been a staple in American culture. This idea has been ingrained into the hearts and minds of the American people and for many it remains unchanged. However, there are those who see the American dream as something different. Something more corruptible and something far less dignified. The idea of working smarter is, in itself, harmless and even beneficial in some cases.

Read More

Why Is The American Dream Still Achievable

817 Words | 4 Pages

Do you think that the American Dream is still achievable? If you said no, don’t worry, you’re just like the other 77% of people that answered the question when being surveyed. Does that at all surprise you considering the cost and expenses of everything nowadays? For most people the dream would consist of being financially stable with a nice paying job with a big house and some nice cars but, people may also have their own thoughts of what the dream is as well.

Read More

Analysis: The Distant American Dream

954 Words | 4 Pages

The Distant American Dream For a vast majority, the American Dream embodies everything that is produced by hope and hard work, and within this concept includes the notion of a stable financial situation. However, as a result of the previous economic predicament of the United States of America, the American Dream seemed out of reach for many. Even now, it still beyond the grasp of many despite an increase in the number of jobs available in the employment market. In fact, it has become increasingly difficult to attain the American Dream of financial stability as criteria for an occupation has become more demanding.

Read More

The American Dream In The 1920's

767 Words | 4 Pages

The American Dream Years ago, the united states of america was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity, hence developing the “american dream”. A dream where everyone has an equal chance to achieve their goals, success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. It was an idea that was once commonly accepted ideology in this country, but now many believe that the “american dream” is no longer attainable by all. Over the course of many years the “american dream” has changed.

Read More

The American Dream In The 1900's

648 Words | 3 Pages

America is known as “The Land of Opportunity” and it established the concept of the American Dream in the 1900’s. The fight for this dream was prevalent even before it was given a name in 1930. The founding fathers wrote this belief into the constitution with the words “All Americans are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” .Some Americans believe that the American Dream can still be obtained in the 21st Century with hard work and perservance ; however, a majority of the American population among race gender and class has a different point of view on what America still provides to their citizens because economic insta8bility and lack of equal opportunity.

Read More

Why Is The American Dream Still Alive

259 Words | 2 Pages

The American Dream for our generation is still alive today. During the 1900s people flocked to America with the same dream, The American Dream. In the article “And they still come to America” by Tarannum Kamlani immigrants explain why they left their native countries, and risked their lives all to come to america, all the people interviewed had the same response they came to america for better opportunities for themselves and their families. The American Dream is the idea that every US citizen should have equal opportunity to achieve success through determination and hard work, I still believe the American Dream is alive today. Hundreds of thousands immigrant still come to the US yearly, young kids american born still strive to be the best

Read More

Thesis Statement On The American Dream

1060 Words | 5 Pages

No matter who you are or where you have come from, you have undoubtedly heard of the American Dream. The idea that no matter who you are or where you have come from, you can do whatever it is you desire in America. What was once one the main driving forces for immigrants to flock to the new world, has slowly changed over the years, but still holds its value in the eyes of those who are looking for a promising new place to live. The American dream might not hold the same awe inspiring sound that it once did, but for many generations before ours it was a beacon of hope that helped build the foundation that the United States was built on. And, still, today the American dream might not be as achievable as it once was, but it is still an important

Read More

Hegemonic Discourse Of The American Dream

1227 Words | 5 Pages

Academic Introduction The philosophy of the American dream is deeply rooted in the soul of the American nation. It portrays the idea of America as a land where all dreams can come true and where those individuals who work hard can live a fuller, happier life. Since the very beginning of the establishment of this ideology, it was already repleted with stereotypes which are still present these days. Taking this into account, to what extent is the American dream really achievable? The aim of this paper is to show how the hegemonic discourse of the American dream is based on stereotypes and consequently fails at accomplishing the expectatives of those who believe in it.

Read More

Reach The American Dream Essay By David Kamp

1777 Words | 8 Pages

Throughout the years the meaning of what the American Dream is has been changed and modified through their personal beliefs and goals in life. Rethinking the American Dream, an essay by David Kamp provides a perfect

Read More

Essay On Inequality In America

411 Words | 2 Pages

Wealth and Inequality in America Inequality The inequality in America has increased over time; the gap between the rich and the poor has become a problem that many Americans don’t see. Inequality is the extent of income which is distributed unequally among the citizenry. The inequality of the United has a large gap between the poor and the rich making it unfair to the population, the rich are becoming wealthier and the poor remain poor. The article “Of the 1%, By the 1%, For the 1%”, authored by Joseph E. Stiglitz describes that there is a 1 percent amount of American’s who are consuming about a quarter of the United States income in a year.

Read More

American Dream Vs Reality

176 Words | 1 Pages

Prospect of the better life and better reality has chased humanity since beginning of time. In United States this concept particularly holds true. We as a nation believe that we can be anyone we want and anything is possible as long as we work hard we will eventually obtain it. This we call the American Dream. Today the quest for American Dream is more challenging than ever from increasing need for higher education due to globalization and cost increases in education due to it to security concerns in Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

Read More

More about Explain Why The American Dream Is Still Alive

Related Topics

Open Document