This essay critically examines the gap between the idealized American Dream and the economic realities faced by middle- and lower-class Americans. Drawing on James Truslow Adams's original definition of the American Dream, the paper argues that unregulated free trade, corporate monopolies, predatory lending, and wage exploitation have produced extreme income inequality and social immobility. The essay uses statistical evidence on income concentration among the top one percent to illustrate how the promise of upward mobility has become largely unachievable for ordinary citizens, and suggests that greater public awareness of income distribution injustice is a necessary step toward meaningful social and economic change.
The American Dream is not what it appears to be. As defined by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, the American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position" (Truslow 214–215).
Although Adams's definition sounds admirable, it is simply not plausible in practice. The greed produced by free trade has made it rare for less fortunate people to obtain their version of the American Dream. When we are children, we are told that we can do whatever we want — become a doctor, an astronaut, anything. Only when we grow older do we discover that life is not fair, that education is not cheap, and that making ends meet in a struggling economy can be just as daunting as completing a space mission or performing brain surgery.
Many people from prior generations view the American Dream as a car in every garage, a white picket fence surrounding a new home, and a happy family with children and a dog. To achieve this dream, they believe all you have to do is work hard and try your best. In actuality, for the average middle- or lower-class family, it is nearly impossible to reach that goal without taking out risky loans that could cost them their home and sink them into an unrecoverable state of debt.
Because of the largely unregulated free trade economic system that the United States allows and encourages, greedy corporations are permitted to establish a legal form of monopoly, which leads to the exploitation of the middle and lower classes. Exploitation of workers has grown more severe over the years, as irresponsible lenders offered high-interest auto and home loans that were extremely easy to obtain. As a result, ordinary people find themselves unable to pursue further education or seek better employment because they are overwhelmed by loan debt. When employers know that workers desperately need their jobs, they are able to act disrespectfully and treat employees unfairly — paying wages below what workers deserve — knowing that those employees have little choice but to stay.
"Debt and inequality block upward economic mobility"
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