Requiem For The American Dream Essay

Requiem for the American Dream is a documentary produced by Peter D. Hutchison and features famous intellect Noam Chomsky who explores the increasing financial inequality in America and breaks down the institutions and people who have shaped how America is today. Chomsky is a famous linguist, cognitive scientist, philosopher, and political activist who is one of the most cited intellects in history. In this documentary, short clips of history and panning shots of government buildings alternates with a striking black set with the camera up-close to Chomsky’s face. Chomsky breaks down the 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power over this 1 hour and 13 minute film. Just within the title, he suggests that the “American Dream” is dead

The most compelling argument to me was his argument that the principle of attacking solidarity has killed the ability to succeed with hard work. He explains that the most basic human behavior of solidarity and sympathy has been driven out of people’s heads to benefit the wealthy and big business. By killing these traits, people are motivated to privatize society in ways such as the public school system and social security. The rich want to defund the public sector, making people mad and hungry for change, leading to privatized systems in which they can profit off of. Adam Smith even pointed out that sympathy must be killed in order to drive capitalism. This caused me to wonder whether capitalism can survive in a democratic society. Another principle Chomsky discussed was the process of reducing democracy. Americans pride themselves on being “the land of the free and home of the brave”, but Chomsky painted the picture that awe use that rhetoric to convince ourselves that what the founding fathers wrote in the constitution is true. It is all a facade. Movements in the 1960s such as civil rights, women’s equality and anti-war stuck fear in those who had the power. This thinking is a result of different solutions to the same problem: reduce democracy or reduce inequality. It has been this battle, and the battle between the general population and those in power. Although Chomsky