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Post by sfarmand on Feb 8, 2016 0:15:29 GMT
In the past, the American Dream was closely tied to ideas of social and economic mobility-- the ability to achieve great wealth and success regardless of where one came from. This fueled much of the economic growth that America saw in its earlier years, although many people were left discontent with their lives because of their inability to achieve their goals of economic mobility. Today, that ideal is being challenged. A growing number of people are lessening the importance wealth and judging their own success based on other indicators, namely relationships and occupational satisfaction/fulfillment. If this is true, what does this mean for the future of America? Will it lead to a happier, more content population because of a lack of a desire to achieve unattainable goals, or will it result in a poor economy because of a decreased desire for wealth?
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Post by briwiegand on Feb 8, 2016 0:32:26 GMT
I totally agree with your idea that people aren't going for the American Dream due to its difficulty. Now obviously I'm about to talk generally since there's always those wonder stories of people achieving their dreams. Since I spend the majority of my spare time on BuzzFeed, I can concur that people are more into the idea of accepting different ideals of success other than literal economic success. Buzzfeed pushes the idea of "everyone is special" and "you are a god/goddess that cannot be suppressed by the man". But there's good and bad in this. Yes people are happier because they are being told they are already successful but they also are just accepting less than greatness. To quote Syndrome from Incredibles, "if everyone's special, no one is". In other words, if everyone is told they are already successful, no one will have the need to push themselves to achieve greatness leading to a decreased moral leading to a lesser economy leading to everyone floating around on hover chairs drinking shakes until a robot helps us realize that we can save the earth from pollution.
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Post by harleen5 on Feb 8, 2016 0:45:15 GMT
I don't think that it will lead to a poorer economy because even if that intense desire for an immense wealth dies down, people will not simply lose the motive for money. There will always, in my opinion, be those who wish to accumulate a large fortune, but hopefully people will see the value in achieving goals that are of a higher moral standard. For example, Fitzgerald shows his idea that the American Dream was once the pursuit of happiness, which is what I think more and more people want today. Because society in America is advancing, many are looking to be happy with themselves. This is seen in social media trends, the Internet, and lots of TV shows.
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Post by jillian on Feb 8, 2016 2:39:55 GMT
OMG briwiegand I LOVE BUZZFEED AND THE INCREDIBLES AND WALL-E AHHHHHhHHhHHhhhHHhHhh. ok but yes I do see where you are coming from, But I also agree with Harleen. Being told that your are special will not inhibit your drive and motivation to do well, I think if anything, it would persuade one to push forward and keep striving for greatness. When an Olympic medalist wins a gold medal, do they quit? HELL NO! They keep going until they can't no more!! They're going for as many medals as they can get. ANd I do understand your idea that if everyone is told that they are successful, It won't make them want to strive for greatness because they already think they are great (which is the case for some people), but I feel like it is just a human instinct to push harder to pursue even greater things. For example, say I was a really good at shuffle boarding. If everyone praised me for my success and loved how amazingly good at it I was, it wouldn't make me flat line my skills or decrease my skills out of the fact that I already felt I was successful and didn't want to try anymore. If anything, I would be out there shuffle boarding everyday, winning medals and stealing hearts. Just saying |
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Post by gerryliu on Feb 8, 2016 3:35:09 GMT
After the Great Recession, the goals of the American Dream seemed challenged, as Shayan mentioned, and is shown by the new generation favoring personal fulfillment then getting far in life. You could say that the new American Dream is to quit work before you die. However, this won't stop the economy from becoming poor. Like what Harleen said about how people will still strive for money, more people will seek financial security than success and you could argue that is a more realistic goal for the general population.
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Post by oliviamccubbins on Feb 8, 2016 4:07:24 GMT
I think focusing on your own happiness and fulfillment will actually lead to a more focused and better economy. When you are not satisfied with your job then you will not try your hardest. Your productivity will drop and this will lead to a weaker economy. If people are happy with what they are doing then they will work harder and do better work. This version of the American Dream would be something everyone can attain at various levels of income.
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