Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, questioning the very foundation the American Dream was built upon? Me too and apparently Chomsky does too!
Chomsky uses the introduction to break down the American Dream by defining democracy. I remember learning about the definition of democracy and the various types in my AP Government class and comparing it to today's type of government. Of course it's no where the same as it was back then. I like how Chomsky confirms this. Chomsky describes pure democracy as putting “power into the hands of the general population” and “taking it away from the privileged and the powerful. It’s a principle of concentration of wealth and power.” So whenever the rich got too rich, the less privileged would intervene and take over their land. This idea of this pure democracy has changed over time due to the “concentration of wealth yielding to the concentration of power”.
Chomsky is making it known that the wealthy have had a considerably large “amount of control over policy”. Based on this claim, it can be concluded that due to rich and wealthy getting more wealthier and creating and control policies to fit their needs, the dreams and needs of a majority of Americans are left ignored.
Chomsky claimed that the wealthy have always had control over policy (15). He quotes Adam Smith and uses the example of how the Senate used to be only elected by the wealthy, higher class individuals, legislatures. This system did not allow for the opinion of the majority of American citizens and therefore policies were not fit to satisfy groups that dominated the population such as women and minorities. Therefore, it was not truly the way democracy was supposed to be executed.
Today, the Senate is elected by the public and a majority of the policies are largely shaped by the opinions of the public. Yet still a majority of Americans still have difficulty in getting their opinions to the government. Especially since most of these policies change once each party leaves the office. For instance, immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not having their opinions taken into account. Due to the ending of this program, many Americans are not being allowed to live their American Dream, materialistic and abstract while others can: a very accurate representation of inequality.
Inequality can lead to many unfortunate consequences on a society, as Chomsky explained. Chomsky tells us that inequality “has a corrosive, harmful effect on social relations, on consciousness, and on human life”. From this I realized that it's very clear in society. Inequality has always been around but seems to have gained recent attention in the media, anywhere from immigrants right to #blacklivesmatter. I believe Chomsky is trying to demonstrate that as long as inequality is prominent in our society, the American Dream will be delayed.
Because inequality is an aspect of society that does not go away, Chomsky is showing us that it is virtually impossible to achieve the American Dream. The more people are trying to convince others that inequality isn't present or we are living in a pure democracy, the more we’re straying away from the aspect of the dream by being ignorant to the fact that inequality is present and we do not live in a pure democracy. We never have. Perhaps once people realize this, steps towards achieving the American Dream can be reached.
Katy Perry ftw!
ReplyDeleteYou address one of the biggest issues of today’s society and an issue that plays a big part on Chomsky’s book. Inequality is one of those things that you think you’ve fixed but it sneaks right back up behind you. America isn’t perfect and let’s be real, it most likely never will be but the more we address and deal with inequality the closer we can get to that perfection we dream of. The way we portray democracy and what it actually is are two different things but if we are able to bring those ideas closer together and compromise the more sound our government could be and the better we could be able to accomplish issues that need to be fixed. I like how you related it to something that just happened in our country and how this could affect their American Dreams but the upper-class with materialistic dreams are good to keep on dreaming. It really puts things into perspective for our country.
I like how you narrowed this down to inequality, Verna. Perhaps some people can keep dreaming but others are excluded from the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great analysis, Verna! It is undeniable that access to the American Dream is not equally available for everyone, which is extremely unfortunate. I believe that individuals fail to see this inequality for themselves, because they choose not to. It is not difficult to read a newspaper or even examine one's own society to vividly see the inequality that plagues us all. I was glad that you mentioned the recent ending of DACA, which proves that our issues are ongoing and not simply in the past. Although we would like to believe that our democracy is fulfilling its potential and providing equality, it is not. I also agree with your statement that we are straying away from the aspect of the American Dream. We must begin to unite amongst one another to express the need for change.
ReplyDeleteInequality is definitely present in today's society, the fact that some people don't see that or just refuse to acknowledge that it exists blows my mind. It is also true that the American Dream is not accessible to everyone living in the United States. Our job is to continue to fight for those who got their voices striped away from them. Just this year with all of the rallies that have happened we can already see that people are trying to show everyone that inequality exists and we will continue to fight and march until we see change happening. There is definitely plenty of work we have left to do but we will slowly and surely get it done.
ReplyDeleteThis is so important to keep in mind! In order to actually live in a democracy, I believe that you have to keep improving it. Many people are willing to settle for the mediocrity that America can be, especially when the problems of today's society do not affect them personally. Just because life is better than it used to be does not mean that we should stop fighting for it to be even better! However, in order to live in a society in which all people are treated as equals like the framers intended, it is necessary to recognize the flaws in society and do everything possible to fix them. Also, I sang the first sentence hahah
ReplyDeleteInequality seems that it is hiding around every corner nowadays. . .crazy to try and wrap my head around that. As a nation, we have abolished slavery and gained women rights—so we thought. To have to come to the realization that our generation faces similar struggles that were once a huge accomplishment for our country is beyond disheartening. American democracy has become so corrupt, we (the majority of the population) have almost no power. The elite attempt to equalize our nation through laws that, in fact, simplify their life style and seemingly cause greater stain on the majority. The concentration of wealth and power fuels the egos of the elite and make an invisible divide in our society. It seems almost intangible to achieve user equality but by withdrawing power from the corrupt elite, we can at least try our best to become as equal as we can.
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