"And when three men hoard one trillion dollars ... "
How long before Americans finally catch on that this is the real problem they face? That what has killed the American dream is unchecked, unimaginable avarice?
I mostly agree. We as a society should strive for something better than lonely consumption, but I fear the underlying shift is we should settle for scraps and be happy.
Except the second half of the article is about how the dream was no good from the start. Those goals pointed us away from the best of ourselves. I hope against hope that we can use the polycrisis to discover a new, collective vision instead. We don’t need the big house and two cars: we can co-house and share our means. We’re doing it anyway because we have to, our kids can leave home and our older relatives need us more. So let’s be intentional about it and develop our humanity in the process
I prefer to say the American Dream is out of reach. Dead makes it seem like it can never come back. But as you suggest, there are still parts of it that are achievable or at least need to be reimagined
Our situation right now is dire and feels incredibly overwhelming, but I want to believe this is a defining moment in time when we not only can, but will take collective steps toward a better world for everyone. It’s a daunting task, but the alternative is giving up, and that’s even more frightening to me.
Great topic and interesting take. To me the funny thing about this is how the American dream changed over time. At one point, it seemed to be more of a social contract where a person that invests effort gets back social and economic mobility. The interesting thing to me is that the pinnacle of this used to be defined as the single family home, couple of cars, couple of kids, nice vacation etc. That definition felt like an embodiment of security and trust in the culture and government that provided the opportunity. Now, the dream seems to aim towards endless wealth accumulation as you note. We laud these billionaires as captains of industry instead of selfish pricks watching the world die of thirst as they run sprinklers over a ten thousand acre lawn. We don’t shoot for security any more but for lottery winnings. Personally, I think if we could change the trajectory of our aspirations back to creating a society where effort could yield a secure life free of constant fear that any bad turn could ruin us then we would all be better off. That’s wholly achievable with a few changes to the tax code.
"And when three men hoard one trillion dollars ... "
How long before Americans finally catch on that this is the real problem they face? That what has killed the American dream is unchecked, unimaginable avarice?
My fear is that the American dream of a house, car, and 2.5 kids will be replaced by a different and yet also familiar American dream (fascism)
As George Carlin said “It’s called the American Dream,because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
I mostly agree. We as a society should strive for something better than lonely consumption, but I fear the underlying shift is we should settle for scraps and be happy.
Except the second half of the article is about how the dream was no good from the start. Those goals pointed us away from the best of ourselves. I hope against hope that we can use the polycrisis to discover a new, collective vision instead. We don’t need the big house and two cars: we can co-house and share our means. We’re doing it anyway because we have to, our kids can leave home and our older relatives need us more. So let’s be intentional about it and develop our humanity in the process
I prefer to say the American Dream is out of reach. Dead makes it seem like it can never come back. But as you suggest, there are still parts of it that are achievable or at least need to be reimagined
Our situation right now is dire and feels incredibly overwhelming, but I want to believe this is a defining moment in time when we not only can, but will take collective steps toward a better world for everyone. It’s a daunting task, but the alternative is giving up, and that’s even more frightening to me.
Great topic and interesting take. To me the funny thing about this is how the American dream changed over time. At one point, it seemed to be more of a social contract where a person that invests effort gets back social and economic mobility. The interesting thing to me is that the pinnacle of this used to be defined as the single family home, couple of cars, couple of kids, nice vacation etc. That definition felt like an embodiment of security and trust in the culture and government that provided the opportunity. Now, the dream seems to aim towards endless wealth accumulation as you note. We laud these billionaires as captains of industry instead of selfish pricks watching the world die of thirst as they run sprinklers over a ten thousand acre lawn. We don’t shoot for security any more but for lottery winnings. Personally, I think if we could change the trajectory of our aspirations back to creating a society where effort could yield a secure life free of constant fear that any bad turn could ruin us then we would all be better off. That’s wholly achievable with a few changes to the tax code.