Changes

The '''American dream''' is the easy availability of upward mobility for Americans. It means an open society with considerable movement up and down in an indivivual lifetime, and across the [[generation]]s, as opposed to tightly structured society in which the status of ancestors determines one's life chances.  For those who like to worry, the idea that the American dream is fading away for the middle class has been a common trope for over 75 years, including today, and has never been true.<ref> David Brooks (a conservative) and Gail Collins (a liberal), debate "Is the American Dream Over?," [http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/is-the-american-dream-over/?ref=opinion ''New York Times'' Dec. 14, 2009]</ref>

The '''American dream''' is the easy availability of upward mobility for Americans. It means an open society with considerable movement up and down in an indivivual lifetime, and across the [[generation]]s, as opposed to tightly structured society in which the status of ancestors determines one's life chances.  For those who like to worry, the idea that the American dream is fading away for the middle class has been a common trope for over 75 years, including today, and has never been true.<ref> David Brooks (a conservative) and Gail Collins (a liberal), debate "Is the American Dream Over?," [http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/is-the-american-dream-over/?ref=opinion ''New York Times'' Dec. 9, 2009]</ref>

==Origins of phrase==

==Origins of phrase==

[[James Truslow Adams]] (1878-1949), a conservative historian, was the first to name "the American dream" and interpret it as the full realization of human potential:

[[James Truslow Adams]] (1878-1949), a conservative historian, was the first to name "the American dream" and interpret it as the full realization of human potential:

==Comparative==

==Comparative==

The American dream has always been a magnet for immigrants. Surveys show that Americans indeed have higher aspirations for themselves and their children. Thus three-quarters of Americans, compared with only one-third of Britons, West Germans, and Hungarians, and even fewer Dutch, agree that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Twice as many Americans as Canadians or Japanese think future generations of their nationality will live better than the present generation.<ref> Data cited by Hochschild, ''Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation'' (1995), ch. 1</ref>  

The American dream has always been a magnet for immigrants. Surveys show that Americans indeed have higher aspirations for themselves and their children. Thus three-quarters of Americans, compared with only one-third of Britons, West Germans, and Hungarians, and even fewer Dutch, agree that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Twice as many Americans as Canadians or Japanese think future generations of their nationality will live better than the present generation.<ref> Data cited by Hochschild, ''Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation'' (1995), ch. 1</ref>