Question

whats the American dream, summarize and analyze the critics of the American dream

Answer 1

The American Dream is deeply rooted in the American culture. It is known to be a national ideology of the United States (US) related to democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality. The American Dream also closely relates to the concept of freedom. More specifically, it is a dream associated with the opportunities available for achievement and success, irrespective of an individual's social status and his or her conditions of birth. The American Dream of upward social mobility is attained via hard work, courage and determination in a society, which has a few blockades. According to James Truslow Adams, the American Dream relates to good quality of life, with the opportunity to thrive. The American Dream is deeply entrenched in the Declaration of Independence.

The criticism of the American dream relates to the concept being just a dream by itself. This is because U.S. Americans wrongly magnify their social mobility relative to Europeans, who underrate it. As a matter of fact, most of the European countries have significantly higher social mobility, relative to the U.S. So, it can be comprehended that the concept of American Dream is applicable in places, apart from America. In America, basic healthcare is not available to poor people. It is with the help of debt, that parents can get their children admitted to universities. Also, Americans have to work for too many hours per week. So, it can be said that the concept of American Dream is actually a concept of American Nightmare.

The concept of American Dream has been misunderstood. So, it cannot be applied in the correct way. The American Dream is being wrongly believed to be accumulation of wealth. The great concept of American Dream has been reduced to the dream of purchasing motor cars and attaining high wages. It is no longer a dream of such a society in which everyone (irrespective of gender, caste and creed) can achieve complete development. It is no longer a dream to receive recognition from others for being what one is. So, instead of chasing the American Dream, people are giving importance and attention to materialism. According to Fitzgerald, the American society is becoming obsessed with consumer culture. So, the American Dream is no longer the area of interest and attention.