For Young Americans, the “American Dream” Resonates Differently
September 29, 2023 by
How has the “American Dream” changed over time? In September, the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University released the results of a survey of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. The poll, which was conducted in partnership with Close Up, the Generation Lab, and the Millennial Action Project, explored “what the American Dream actually means for young Americans, who are trying to sort through the churning dynamics shaping their lives, including: spiraling technological innovation, major economic transitions, changing attitudes about social justice, and what constitutes a good, or ‘successful,’ life after a devastating global pandemic with profound impacts on their physical and mental health, the extent of which is still unknown.”
The report, based on interviews of 1,568 people between the ages of 18 and 34, offers important insights into young people’s understanding of the American Dream, the economy and workplace, major social and political issues, and community engagement. One key finding is that, while young people still believe in the idea of the American Dream, they view it differently than previous generations did. Marriage, owning a home, and having children are lower priorities than they were in the past. Being happy and fulfilled and having the freedom to make significant life decisions top the list of important elements of the American Dream of today’s young people.
A second finding is that, for young Americans, individual efforts and characteristics are the most important determining factors in their ability to achieve the American Dream. However, forces outside of their control, such as the economy and the decisions of elected officials, also play a significant role. For Black and Hispanic respondents, social conditions such as inequality, bias, and discrimination are viewed as vital factors. Respondents of color were also more likely to rate the decisions of policymakers as very important.
While young Americans view the policies and decisions of elected officials as important, they are skeptical of the capacity of politics and government to help them achieve the American Dream. Respondents were just as likely to say that social and economic policy has “done more to hold me back” than “to help me achieve the American Dream.” Additionally, respondents were almost twice as likely to say that “our political system, including the way we choose our elected officials,” has hindered their ability to achieve the American Dream than to say that it has helped.
In next week’s blog post, we will use results from this survey to take a closer look at young Americans’ views of politics, political engagement, and civic life.
Discussion Questions
- Do you believe in the American Dream?
- What does the American Dream mean to you?
- How important are the factors shown in the first image to your American Dream?
- Are you optimistic about your future? How about the future of the nation?
- How do the factors shown in the second image impact the way you think about your opportunity to achieve the American Dream?
As always, we encourage you to join the discussion with your comments or questions below.
Sources
Featured Image Credit: Biden image: Sine Institute of Policy & Politics, American University
I believe the American Dream has been distorted by the left, socialists/marxists. When Truslow coined the term in 1931, it was meant to grace uniquely American values….God, Country, Family, Freedom. It was the values of people like Andrew Carnegie and pre and post WWll entrepreneurs that built our communities from scratch. What America did since 1900 showed the world the power of freedom. No kings, no dictators, no religious kingdoms, just the common man was the focus. The left/socialist and their quest for power understand class warfare, class division and exploit it at every opportunity. I interpret values were the key to success. Our founders, though no one is perfect….they had values, they studied the philosophers, civilzations…they knew! We need to change our education system to a value based curriculum. Honesty, Responsibilty, Respect, Work Ethic, Kindness, Family. Instead it’s about CRT, inequitie in everything….and it just gives the socialists and the media more fodder.
The American Dream, as coined in a 1931 book by James Truslow Adams, has been increasingly mischaracterized by the left-particularly by socialists and Marxists. Adams explained that the dream was a ” faith, patriotism, family, and individual freedom. It was these values that energized pioneers such as Andrew Carnegie and a host of entrepreneurs leading up to and following WWII, who created prosperous communities and gave the world a display of the unequaled might of freedom. America’s successes throughout the 20th century bore witness to what a society with a preeminence on the individual could do, not constrained by kings, dictators, or religious rule.
Unfortunately, class division is becoming used as a tool by those who are power hungry, capitalizing on complaints rather than uniting around common values. At the heart of America’s success has always been a foundation in principles-principles deeply understood by our Founding Fathers through their study of philosophy, history, and human nature. Imperfect, yes, but a foundation set forth with many universals that ring true even today.
We need to refocus our education system on core values that uphold the American Dream: honesty, responsibility, respect, hard work, kindness, and family. Unfortunately, today’s radical focus on concepts such as Critical Race Theory and systemic inequality only furthers divisions and escalates conflict. We must return to a values-based curriculum if we are going to preserve those principles that have made America a beacon of freedom and opportunity for generations.
Strange. I think one or both of these comments are either AI generated, or they’re by the same person or someone with the exact same views. The second comment was posted almost exactly one year after the first, both comments are saying the same thing and structured the same way in the same order, just only slightly modified, and the names are very similar and unique, using all the same letters except for one “k”. Mike Milkovich and Milo Vickheim?
Also, I tried posting on or around November 14, 2024, essentially as a retort to “Mike’s” initially post, when it was the only post existing on this page for this article. I’ve been checking almost every day to see my comment listed, but nothing. Today, December 11, 2024, I check and see that there’s now a “new” comment, dated November 23, 2024… and it’s all the same stuff as the first comment. First, why is this comment getting through and being posted when I posted mine over a week beforehand? My post contained nothing inappropriate. And if someone or something is reviewing each comment before posting to the site, strange that they/it wouldn’t pickup on how both of these comments are essentially the same. It’s weird and frustrating.