Public Opinion Says American Dream Is Attainable

Last week, The New York Times’ Room for Debate discussion addressed the question, “Is the Modern American Dream Attainable?” The debaters’ arguments, while relevant to the question, did not address Americans’ views of the subject. Do Americans think today’s American Dream is attainable?

AEI’s new ebook “Is the American Dream Alive? Examining Americans’ Attitudes” offers insight into this perennial topic. In this case, the study’s data on hard work—a primary means of pursuing the dream—and on achieving the dream prove instructive.

Americans have long believed that hard work enables people to get ahead, and that belief remains firm today. In a 1990 Pew poll, 63% disagreed with the statement that hard work offers little guarantee of success. In 2012, Pew’s most recent asking, the same percent gave the same response. In a similar trend question, 68% of Americans told Pew pollsters that most people who want to get ahead can make it if they’re willing to work hard. In March 2014, 65% gave that response.

That said, Americans’ confidence in the opportunities their hard work will provide has suffered over the past decade. In a 2001 Gallup poll, 76% of Americans were very or somewhat satisfied with the opportunity for a person to get ahead by working hard. Twenty-two percent were dissatisfied. In 2012, 53% were satisfied and 46% dissatisfied. Americans still believe in the value of hard work but express increasing concern that it won’t help them gain ground in their pursuit of the dream.

Nevertheless, most Americans believe the American Dream is still achievable. In 2011, 75% of Americans said the American Dream was still “possible and achievable for other people like you” (Allstate/National Journal). Multiple polling organizations have long asked Americans if they have achieved the dream or will do so eventually. A plurality of Americans say they have achieved the dream, and, significantly, similar proportions say that if they haven’t achieved the dream, they believe they will do so eventually.

Hispanics and African Americans show particular optimism on this measure. In 2013, 56% of Hispanics and 60% of African Americans said they haven’t achieved the American Dream yet but feel they will do so eventually (Harvard School of Public Health/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Public Radio).

Americans’ tempered optimism about attaining the dream, while important, barely scratches the surface of public opinion on the dream.

For more on this topic, read the article “Public opinion and the American Dream” and the ebook “Is the American Dream Alive? Examining Americans’ Attitudes.”

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