For generations the promise of America has been for a rising standard of living. If you work hard, no matter how humble your origin you can rise in society to something better in the way of material well being, economic security, a settled life and social prestige. The economic crisis that has plagued the US since 2008 calls into question this dream.
Cliff DuRand of the Center for Global Justice takes a look at this tragic social development. He critiques the ideology of the American Dream, showing how its very success has undermined political support for the very policies that have made it possible for some. With rampant globalization of the economy, the upward mobility promised for the fabled "middle class" is being replaced by downward mobility for more and more. This is the consequence of policies of a political elite more attuned to the interests of corporations than people.
We surely live in interesting times--from the deepening of U.S.-led militarism to existential ecological and economic crises to shifts in the world order ranging from a significant decline of the Global North along with the rise of the East and Global South. Vijay Prashad, executive director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social... Read more