I’ve started reading about “The Myth of the American Dream”. Most of the writing focuses on who benefits from The Dream, i.e. the privileged and wealthy, who are usually white.
Here’s an article talking about a book on the topic by Joseph Stiglitz. It provides an example of the popular myth framing.
This new book by D.L. Mayfield also caught my attention. I haven’t read it, yet intend to.
These charts frame the viewpoint along racial lines. (Unfortunately they’re behind the New York Times’ paywall.)
Through Just Rolling with It, I’ve been exploring whether The Dream is worth pursuing at all, for anyone.
Over time I expect to bring these two ideas together, i.e. “Not only is The Dream a myth, it’s a self-destructive myth…”
I’d appreciate hearing your initial thoughts on this thesis in the comments 🙏👇
I read your email and have a short thought to share. Forgive me to not have read all your material on the Myth of the Dream. And I'm Dutch, so my perspective might be totally ignorant. But still...
While listening to some 80s rock music playlist , I came across the song Run to the Hills. Awesome song, you're maybe more familiar with it than I am. Though having heard the song many times never really hearing the lyrics and message, because of our current BLM environment it now struck a chord.
The song is about slaughtering native Americans in Columbian times. And I thought, this is part (and start?) of the American Dream. The Dream is about getting ahead in life, but at the expense of others.
You cannot become new upper class if somebody else doesn't goes down in class (off course we can all raise basic standards, but that's something different and we can redistribute proportions of upper class and lower class, but that's "socialism").
An insight that I only had lately is that someone can only get (or has gotten) rich by exploiting either natural resources (destroying the environment) and/or by exploiting other people. You could state that running a company that only overpays all employees and still makes a lot of money, but that doesn't take into account the near slavery work that got in producing for example computer parts that are needed, or clothes to wear.
Anyway, the American Dream through this lens might be described as: systemically praying on the weak, wherever they are in the world. Pessimistically, this might also just be called "Life" but to glorify it as The Dream....
Is The Dream a myth?
Hi Chris,
I read your email and have a short thought to share. Forgive me to not have read all your material on the Myth of the Dream. And I'm Dutch, so my perspective might be totally ignorant. But still...
While listening to some 80s rock music playlist , I came across the song Run to the Hills. Awesome song, you're maybe more familiar with it than I am. Though having heard the song many times never really hearing the lyrics and message, because of our current BLM environment it now struck a chord.
The song is about slaughtering native Americans in Columbian times. And I thought, this is part (and start?) of the American Dream. The Dream is about getting ahead in life, but at the expense of others.
You cannot become new upper class if somebody else doesn't goes down in class (off course we can all raise basic standards, but that's something different and we can redistribute proportions of upper class and lower class, but that's "socialism").
An insight that I only had lately is that someone can only get (or has gotten) rich by exploiting either natural resources (destroying the environment) and/or by exploiting other people. You could state that running a company that only overpays all employees and still makes a lot of money, but that doesn't take into account the near slavery work that got in producing for example computer parts that are needed, or clothes to wear.
Anyway, the American Dream through this lens might be described as: systemically praying on the weak, wherever they are in the world. Pessimistically, this might also just be called "Life" but to glorify it as The Dream....
Keen to know what your thoughts are.
Best,
Pieter