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Originally Posted by Professor S
The American Dream is not a myth. The fact is that most of the wealthy people in America are self-made/nouveau riche (came from relatively humble beginnings), and not a result of generational/aristocratic wealth. This is a myth pasted on to American society that was held over from European wealth structure and the writings of Marx and Engels, whose observations tended to be of Eurpean wealth structures. Also, most of the West was settled not by the rich, but by settlers looking to carve out their piece of the American Dream themselves. They took it upon themselves to take the US up on their ofer of land and tread into the great unknown seeking their fame and fortune. They are not to be derided, but celebrated for their sheer audacity.
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I would agree with you here in that the percentage of the "wealthy" that are generational is much lower than the self made, but I suppose this might depend as to how precisely we define the term wealthy. I would say, however, that in some ways we have developed our own form of an aristocracy, but to a lesser degree than European nations. We have our Rockefellers and our Vanderbilts, although they are few. I view them more so as a natural by-product of wealth creation than anything else.
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We have done more to try and create a culture of fairness over the last 50-80 years with continued and expanding social and wealth redistribution programs and the end result is that we are a culture that has never felt more helpless and unhappy, and as KG shows more and more of us believe that the American Dream is a myth that some people just will never attain.
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I don't necessarily disagree with your belief in the American Dream, but how do you explain the fact that the prime determiner of what ones class will be is the class of their parents?