The American Dream

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The American Dream
Introduction
The American Dream is a set of concepts adopted by the United States to promote the success of Americans depending on individual effort regardless of birth status, race, gender, or ethnicity. The foundation of the American Dream is eliminating prejudice to grant every individual equal opportunity to attain social status. My perception is that the American Dream is no longer achievable by all Americans due to the influence of life chances and structural mobility. Structural mobility denotes the upward movement of a group of individuals in the social status ladder whereas life chances indicate that there is a direct relationship between life opportunities and socioeconomic status.
Why Is the American Dream Unattainable for all Americans?
Structural MobilityOne reason why the American Dream is not attainable by all is structural mobility. Research indicates that about 63% of Americans have the view that children will not attain social status exceeding that of their parents (Luhby n.p.). Therefore, it is expected that children will not move upwards and attain social status levels similar to those attained by their parents. As evidenced by structural mobility, the American Dream is not attainable by all Americans.
Life Chances
The other reason why the American Dream is not attainable by all is life chances. Some Americans come from well-to-do families while others come from families defined by low social status.

Americans coming from well-to-do families have better opportunities of attaining economic stability as compared to their counterparts coming from families defined by low social status. Therefore, the differences in life chances make the American Dream a difficult fete to attain by all Americans.
Conclusion
It is expected that all Americans can attain the American Dream, but as evidenced by the above literature it is not an attainable aspect for all Americans. Factors such as life chances and structural mobility contribute to the unattainability of the American Dream for all.

Work Cited
Luhby, Tami. “The American Dream is out of Reach – Jun. 4, 2014.” CNNMoney – Business, Financial and Personal Finance News, 4 June 2014, money.cnn.com/2014/06/04/news/economy/american-dream/index.html.