The American Dream is not one-size-fits-all. Yet recent polling suggests our national dream is dead on arrival.
We need to read the fine print. People may be more pessimistic about the American Dream as a concept, but the same isn’t true for their own personal lives. Asking “Do you think the American Dream — that if you work hard you’ll get ahead — still holds true, never held true, or once held true but does not anymore?” generalizes people’s thoughts about the concept itself but not people’s own experience.
Working hard and getting ahead financially is certainly one possible component, but it is not the most fundamental. James Truslow Adams’ definition in “The Epic of America” (1931) continues to be relevant: “[The American Dream] is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man and woman, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.”
Experiencing a better, richer, and fuller life is not the same for everyone. “Better” can mean greater life expectancy and health care; “richer” can mean retiring comfortably. But no other part of the American Dream is more unique than the pursuit of a “fuller” life, an idea that can serve as an aspirational vision: Freely practicing any religion that one chooses, maintaining a good family life, or pursuing a fulfilling career that is enabled by free, dynamic markets. The list goes on.
In a separate poll from the Archbridge Institute (using the same polling firm, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago), we found different results when asking people directly about their own American Dreams. This distinction is critical.
In our first survey in 2020, only 18% of respondents said the American Dream was out of reach, compared to 30% today. But 70% of people are still optimistic, saying they have either achieved it or are on their way to achieving it.
The framing of questions in more pessimistic polls plays into a common phenomenon. In his book “Collective Illusions,” author Todd Rose discusses the tendency of people to adopt a worldview that might be popular even if they don’t really believe it themselves.
In the case of our American Dream survey, though nearly 70% of people believe they have either achieved or are on their way to achieving the American Dream, only 51% agree that most Americans can achieve it. The same goes for a 2024 survey, which asked about hope for the future. Some 82% said they are hopeful about their own future, and 85% were hopeful about their family’s future. However, when asked about the future of the United States, only 56% of people were hopeful.
Why would it be that people are optimistic about their own futures as Americans and their own American Dreams, but not about the country’s writ large? Perhaps recent headlines reinforce a pessimistic, collective illusion that is making people nihilistic about others’ futures, without that being their lived experience.
Most people continue to understand that living better, richer, and fuller lives — rather than simply becoming wealthy — is essential to the American Dream. “Freedom of choice in how to live” (83%) and “having a good family life” (80%) remain the most important achievements associated with the American Dream. In comparison, only 15% of U.S. adults claim becoming wealthy is essential, down from 19% last year.
Of course, many challenges remain, including the tariff-induced economic slowdown and a slowing labor market. Affordable housing is another issue. A rampant increase in zoning laws has made housing more expensive to build. Higher interest rates discourage homebuying, driving up rental prices even further. But even though rates are higher today than in the 2010s, previous generations had to contend with rates as high as 18% (early 1980s).
We need to retain historical perspective. Data has shown that younger generations are wealthier at this time in their lives than previous generations at the same age. Younger generations are saving more and believe they will be better prepared for retirement.
When media headlines or politicians highlight an unwarranted pessimistic narrative, we risk making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. When people might doubt the American Dream, that is exactly the time to share our reality that it is alive and well.
The anniversary of the U.S. Constitution’s signing this week and next year’s semiquincentennial of America offers a unique chance to reaffirm optimism. Let’s shed the pessimism and support a shared American Dream that can shape centuries to come.
Schwarz serves as president and CEO of the Archbridge Institute.
