Is The American Dream A Sham? – 8-Bit Philosophy

Is the American Dream a sham?

Apple pies, a white picket fence, a mortgage,
1.5 kids, a sizeable salary, the promise of

middle class stability… The American dream
is a belief in upward mobility—where if

you work hard enough you can achieve to your
ability—it is a trust in the land of opportunity

and that the world that we live in can get
better.

But is the American dream over?

Many pessimists declare that the dream is
just an illusion—that we live in a time

when institutional racism, gratuitous violence,
the glass ceiling, and the corporatization

of the country make it impossible for progressive
change.

But for American Pragmatist Richard Rorty—the
American dream is far from over.

As the first philosophy to originate in the
United States, pragmatism has a distinct American…

flavor. Popularized in the late nineteenth
century by Charles Saunders Peirce, William

James, and John Dewey, pragmatists are concerned
with usefulness and practicality.

A statement is true if it works for you; if
it’s beneficial, profitable, and feasible

for you then it is consistent with the precepts
of pragmatism.

Theorizing about the number of angels that
can dance on the head of a pin is fine and

well, but it doesn’t help your stock portfolio.

In his book Achieving Our Country, Rorty asks
if national pride is good for America—if

the myth of the American dream, of a story
that we repeatedly tell ourselves about America,

is a good myth to continue. Understood from
the perspective of pragmatism, the question:

“is the American dream a sham?” depends
on your situation. Those that feel like they

have access to the American dream might answer
“no” while those that feel disenfranchised

might answer “yes.”

Even if past horrors cast a shadow on the
American dream—it shouldn’t be a reason

to shut down the possibility of hope for a
better future—rather the past should guide

us in understanding how to navigate social
relations to bring about positive change in

line with the American dream.

For Rorty, American pride doesn’t have to
be synonymous with a caricature of Americanism—it

doesn’t have to be the banal sort of rallying
cry for the four “F’s”: football, freedom,

fornication and beer. American pride is about
more than fanaticism and chauvinism—it is

about a belief in democracy and hope.

If American pragmatism is a philosophy that
purports to deal in functionality and clarity,

then perhaps it is important to ask: what
is the cash value of the American dream?

So dear viewer, what do you think? If you
agree with Rorty’s optimism about the American

dream, cast your vote by clicking on Captain
America’s vibranium shield. If you think

think the dream has seen it’s final days,
smite Ultron with you mouse of justice.We

will reveal the results in next week’s episode.
Thank you for watching, beloved viewer.