99% by Mark Thomas

Author:Mark Thomas [Thomas, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789544527
Publisher: Head of Zeus

MYTH #2: AMERICA IS THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

The American Dream was defined by James Truslow Adams in his book, The Epic of America, as:

… 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.3

This vision, of a meritocratic society in which attainment is based on innate capabilities rather than the fortuitous circumstances of birth and position, has been a powerful motivating force. The promise of upward mobility is one of the reasons why people have, for so long, been keen to immigrate into the United States, and it continues to be held by politicians to be one of the great strengths of the USA. The table below shows the facts relating to upward mobility in a selection of OECD countries.

Figure 31: Upwards mobility in different countries

Country

Earnings mobility

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