Final exam
Wenjie Cui
The Transformation of the American Dream
“Transformation of the American Dream” is an essay by Robert J. Shiller, a Sterling Professor of Economics and Finance, and a Fellow at the International Center of Finance at the Yale School of Management. Shiller argues that the American Dream keeps changing and is determined by the prevailing value system. He argues of the possibility that the dream might have been the cause of the housing bubble that resulted in the 2008 financial crisis. According to him, “… the meaning of the term changes through time as culture changes, and as opportunists try to redefine to their own advantage” (Shiller). Shiller is right in his assertions since the world is continuously changing and what was valuable in 1931 is no longer of value today. For example, while in the past, people desired to have the freedom to access basic services like education and the freedom to vote, in the modern world, we are free to vote and some do not even perceive it as a privilege that the forefathers fought to be granted. Currently, wealth is the most cherished aspect and thus people perceive living the dream as amassing immense wealth. So, even though times have changed and structures are different as well, the American dream remains achievable in different ways and capacities.
Assessment of the Original Draft
The American dream draws its inspiration from wealth. My original draft indicates the aforementioned quite clearly. From time immemorial, people have always chased after wealth and every activity that people engage in and has wealth as the ultimate goal. The search for wealth is what drove many immigrants to the United States as it was known as the Land of Opportunities. Therefore, whatever has been changing has been the forms of wealth, which have in turn changed people’s dreams. The change in wealth, which has led to the change in dreams, explains Shiller’s argument of the transformation of the American Dream.
The American dream has been the driver of both the political system and popular culture. This idea and its explication make up for one of the strengths of my previous submission as well as the idea that the American dream varies from person to person. In the essay, I stated that “everyone, irrespective of their place of birth or the class in which they were born, has the potential to attain their own version of success through their sheer efforts.” Unfortunately, the dream has continued to be unattainable in the eyes of many Americans. Shiller also confirms this statement by stating, “…even in 1931, many were losing sight of this dream.” Therefore, I am right to believe that the American dream keeps changing and that with every generation, comes new barriers and expectations as indicated by the Learning Network (2019). Just as Shiller argues, in the past, people fought for things like freedom and the right of access to education. Currently, education is a basic need around the world and everybody has an equal chance to attend sch...