The American Dream is Dead

The American Dream is Dead Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation The American Dream is Dead There is a growing need for Americans to revisit the viability of the American Dream. Every adult American understands the American Dream as the philosophical analogy that accords people an avenue to success through hard work and persistence. The American Dream concept is anchored on the basis that America allows every one of its citizens to prosper. However, the sociological position shows that the American Dream is dead. Partly, that could be because of the multiple factors that undermine the achievement of the dream. To understand the viability of the American Dream through its core tenets. An exploration of the structural functionalism aspects of economy, family, and education implies the increasing failure of the American Dream. Theoretical Basis of the American Dream Understanding the viability of the American dream must begin with an insightful exploration of its theoretical basis. The American Dream was born from the tenets of structural functionalism. Structural functionalism is a sociological perspective that showcases society as a complex system (Morrison, 2020). From the proponents of the structural functionalist theory, society is made up of multiple parts with each part accorded a specific function that contributes to the overall functionality of the society. If viewed from the functionalist lens, the American Dream is among the glues that define the operational efficiencies of American society (Strain, 2020). Firstly, the American Dream achieves this mandate by outlining its manifest functions that encompass a shared cultural belief. It is within the shared cultural belief that people are motivated to become what they want to become. Put simply, the manifest functions encourage Americans to pursue education, work hard, and strive for success. All the above values should contribute to social cohesion as they foster a sense of purpose and direction. The other tenet of the American Dream within structural functionalism is marked by its latent functions. Besides acting as a tool to motivate and encourage individuals toward some values, the American Dream could also be used as a social control mechanism (Morrison, 2020). That is, it is a tool that can be used to remind people about their responsibility both to themselves and to the nation. In cases of social unrest, such a mechanism can be used to encourage people to focus more on constructive behaviors and not destructive ones. Further, within the context of social control, the American Dream analogy can be deployed to deflect attention from ills such as systemic inequality and social problems thereby maintaining the status quo (Strain, 2020). A more insightful analysis of the American Dream through the latent functions of structural functionalism reveals how this framework could be used to way people into evading reality within the illusion of motivation. The element of social control is only viable if maintaining the status quo hastens the achievement of personal dreams, which is not often the case. The structural-functional theory also helps to assess the American Dream through its influence on various social institutions. Within the structure of the American Dream, education is a key institution (Strain, 2020). The value of education in the pursuit of the American Dream stems from the fact that it is the only institution that provides people with the required knowledge and skills to succeed in the workforce. The educational institution is structured to promote meritocracy, a prospect that reinforces the belief that any individual, despite his/her background, can persevere and work hard to achieve his/her goals. The second social institution through which structural functionalism promotes the idea of the American Dream is the family. The family institution is largely viewed as the foundation of the American Dream. That is because strong families are seen as platforms for social and economic success. Finally, structural functionalists view the economy as a social institution that stimulates the move toward achieving the American Dream. The economy should contribute to the realization of the American Dream by offering opportunities to earn a living for all Americans. The economy should also support people through their motivation to accumulate wealth and scale the heights of socioeconomic status. Combined, the three institutions have been used in the context of structural functionalism to steer the American Dream ideas. Criticism of the Structural Functionalist Perspective The structural-functionalist perspective of the American Dream has been criticized extensively even though it offers insight into the foundations of the American Dream. Firstly, the framework overemphasizes consensus at the expense of conflict and equality (Morrison, 2020). The structural-functionalist aspect of social control downplays the fact that facing challenges like inequality and social conflict can also be core elements in achieving the American Dream. Achieving the American Dream cannot stem entirely from maintaining the status quo. Instead, some changes must be made in the social structures to match the ideas (Sirak, 2017). If the status quo is emphasized, chances are high that the American Dream fails to account for the experiences of marginalized groups. The marginalized individuals spend much of their resources fighting inequality, something that structural functionalism seeks to undermine through social control. Structural functionalism has also been criticized for its ahistorical approach as well as an idealization of social order. The historical and social contexts are...