The American Dream and self-resect
Do they conflict?
Sam and John posted on the shifting nature of the American Dream.
The American Dream poses interesting questions for self-respect. I earlier argued that self-respect should be a primary concern of politics and political theory.
The American Dream promises that anybody, from any beginning, can succeed. There is a belief that in the American meritocracy and free market, people are limited only by their talents and work ethic, not by any ancient class or caste system. This is only one interpretation of the American Dream and Sam’s piece highlights the various interpretations it lends itself to, but I believe this is the standard or at least traditional understanding.
If one were to internalize this interpretation, it both helps and hurts people’s self-respect:
1. How it aids self-respect:
A. It lends itself to a capacious conception of the person, one wherein each person contains great potential energy. We respect ourselves more because we respect the possibility of humanity more. We become more interesting and powerful creatures.
B. If we are experiencing a period of failure, which is defined subjectively, as I wrote earlier, the American Dream can prevent a certain loss of self-respect because it sustains hope, hope that all is not lost and that through hard-work and maybe a touch of luck everything will turn around. We should not deem ourselves failures because that is often a transitory phenomenon in America.
C. If a person has succeeded (again subjectively) the American Dream aids self-respect by instilling in him the notion that it was him, his will, that created the success, and not a lucky birth or the structure of society. He will respect himself more than if he thought his successes were largely the product of circumstance.
2. How it threatens self-respect:
A. When somebody experiences failure, as he conceives it, the American Dream makes them him believe that it was his fault, and not the result of bad luck or circumstance. This makes him feel that much worse about their position and themselves.
So, in sum, is the American Dream good or bad for self-respect? It seems like a good thing to me, since another conception of the person–one whereby life is largely the product of circumstance–threatens self-respect at more foundational level, as I argued earlier.
Maybe, in response to Sam and John’s posts, people tweak their conception of the American Dream so as to secure their self-respect. If the American Dream offers the rewards of what anybody can supposedly receive if they work hard enough, etc., maybe our conception changes to follow what we believe is in fact reasonably obtainable. We might place the bar a little higher than what happens in reality, but we don’t want to place it so far above what is reasonably possible, because then we will all feel the disrespect mentioned in 2(A).
Financial security has been somewhat disassociated with the American Dream because it’s arguably not something an individaul can guaranteed himself through hard work, etc. First, because the market is so volatile and weak. Second, because there is a realization that the market is an obscure behemoth of sorts, often unpredictable and out of (our) control. People are releasing financial security from the American Dream because the American Dream guarantees what the individual can secure on his own accord, and the market these days provides no such guarantees, even for the hard-working, and even for the hard-working and talented. At least, that’s one theory.
-Jake
Related posts:
- The American Dream is descriptive
- Changing American Dream
- Nordic self-respect
- Genius and self-respect
- Born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
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