Americansare souring ontheAmericanDream – youngAmericansare leading this change.Their attitudes towardtheDreamhave rapidly declinedinjustthepast few years. This is a problem that isnot top of mind forAmericans, but that neither party can overlook as we entertheelection season.
Asyoungpotential votersturn awayfrom political engagement and arenot enthusiastic about either presidential candidate,theparty which helpsinspireyoungAmericanswith policies that support upward mobility and reward ambition is more likely to bringthese disaffected votersintothefold.
New data fromthePew Research Centerjust foundthat two-thirds ofAmericans(67%)believethey have either achievedtheAmericanDream(31%) or are ontheir way to achieving it (36%) while almost a third (30%) ofAmericansbelievethattheDreamis out of reach forthem.In2017, barely 1in5 adults (17%) stated thattheDreamwas out of reach and 82%believedthey were ontheir way or had achievedtheDream.These changes are startling.
Young people are more likely to doubt that anyone can achieve success and mobility in the U.S. through hard work and determination. (Mickey Strider/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
We should be concerned thatthepercentage ofAmericanswho feeltheAmericanDreamis out of reach has doubledinunder a decade, but more worrisome isthegenerational discord ontheAmericanDream.
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In2017,Pew foundthat Gen Zs and Millennials were very optimistic abouttheir futures with 87% of Gen Z respondents and 91% of Millennials respondents believing thatthey had achieved or were well ontheir way to achievingtheDream.
Just about 10% of each cohortbelieved thattheDreamwas out oftheir reachin2017. Older cohortsbelieved thattheDreamwas out of reach forthem, asthey had a more definite sense oftheir life’s trajectory.
VideoSeven years later–withtheelection only months away–attitudes towardtheAmericanDreamlook far worse by approximated generation cohortinthe2024 Pew data.
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Almost a quarter (23%) of Boomers and Silents, respectively,believethattheDreamis out oftheir reach. Gen Z and Millennials, however, have turned negative ontheir futures.Injust seven years, thoseinGen Z arenow three times more likely to report thattheAmericanDreamis out of reach, jumping from 11%in2017 to 36%in2024.
Thenumber of Millennials who report thattheAmericanDreamis out of reach nearly quadrupled, from 9%in2017 to 35%in2024.YoungerAmericansare unmistakably less optimistic or confidentthey will be able to livetheirAmericanDreamasthey recently were.
VideoAMERICAN DREAM IS SLIPPING AWAY, VOTERS SAY IN NEW POLL
Some ofthemain concernsof votersinNovember – inflation, labor dynamics, immigration, and questions on issues like abortion and climate – certainly impacttheir perception oftheAmericanDream.
ManyyoungerAmericansareindeed having trouble findingthejobs and careers thatthey want as well as affording homes and payingtheir bills. They worry about governmentinstability, polarization, along with its clear dysfunction such as its troubling mismanagement oftheCOVID-19 pandemic.
These real and practical economic and political problems have growninpotencyinthepast seven years and have undeniably played a roleinyoungAmericans’ changing perspective ontheAmericanDream. However, another critical component to this attitude change,notably amongyoungcohorts ofAmericans,involves a pervasive philosophical change as well:
VideoManyyoungerAmericansarecoming of ageina social and academic environment that is antithetical tothecore tenant oftheAmericanDream.Youngpeople arenow more likely to doubt that anyone can achieve success and mobilityintheUnited States through hard work and determination.
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Merit and excellence have been replaced by identity politics and a fixation onthebinary of oppressor and oppressed.Thedangerous principles of diversity, equity, andinclusion have become prevalent throughout campuses and boardrooms andyoungAmericanshave seenthepower and prevalence ofthese ideas – ideas that have erodedthebeliefinAmericanopportunism.
YoungAmericanshave seen that DEI principles donot encourage progress or growth. DEI proponents see hard work and competition as regressive, and reject and vilify hard work, merit, family, andthedignity oftheindividual.
VideoIf our students andyounger cohorts ofAmericanshave seen DEI’s real impacts, are regularly divided by identity, are subjected to different opportunities due to immutable characteristics, and are being told only particular types of people can receive particular markers of success regardless of how hard one works or one’s qualifications –theAmericanDreamdies.
TheAmericanDreamhas long been an ethos that has anchored our nation, spurredinnovation, and improvedthequality of life for countless numbers of people. We became a shining beacon free of limiting structures becausetheDreamrepresentedtheidea that we had control over our future andtheability to make choices about how to work and live life.
YoungerAmericansnow feel that thisDreamis slipping forthem, and politicians acrossthepolitical spectrum arenot taking this seriously. Our nation’s very character isnow at risk, and we cannot ignore this new reality; we must make a concerted effort to reaffirm our commitment tothese coreAmericanvalues and take steps to ensure that we keeptheAmericanDreamalive for all.
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Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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