The Fallacy of the American Dream

Paper Summary:

Picks apart the flaws in the American Dream, namely, that anyone born into poverty, invariably, can transcend their station in life by dint of hard work, persistence, initiative, and daring. The paper starts off talking about the American Dream's fallacies that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, the predetermination of the socioeconomic background, race, gender, and the statistical failure of minorities.

From the Paper:

"The ideal of the American Dream, anyone "born into poverty, invariably can transcend their station in life by dint of hard work, persistence, initiative, and daring", promises hope for the poor(foot note). By exploiting stories that glorify the ability of the underprivileged to rise up from rags to riches, the media gives an empty hope and a false sense of reality to the public. By promoting the message, "each of us is judged solely on her or his own merits, we each have a fair opportunity to develop those merits; and ultimately, merit will win out," we only further the problem of unrealistic expectation(foot note). Faith in this message slows society's progress toward greater equality, providing the illusory image of a country where one's starting place does not have to determine where he finishes."

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