Gonzalo Schwarz is the president and chief executive of the Archbridge Institute.
As America turns 250 years old, many people say the American Dream is at risk.
Last month, an Associated Press-NORC poll found that only one-third of Americans believe the American Dream still exists. A CNBC poll the same month found that a majority of people consider the American Dream out of reach.
But most public polling captures what people believe about the accessibility of the American Dream for others. In their own life, they are far more optimistic.
The modern definition of the American Dream came from James Truslow Adams, who in 1931 said it was “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” But the idea began much earlier, with the nation’s founding promise of equality and the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This unique national ethos is the inspirational and forward-looking cultural fabric that binds the United States together, even as the American Dream has not been available to everyone through all of U.S. history.
The American Dream is not dead. Despite polarization, political crises and an uncertain economy, Americans continue to pursue and live it.
For seven years, my organization, the Archbridge Institute, has asked the American people directly about their own lives and families. This year, 67 percent of Americans we asked say they have either achieved the American Dream or are on their way to achieving it. Seventy-one percent say they have more opportunities, or about the same opportunities, as their parents. Among parents, 68 percent say the same about the opportunities available to their children.
For the 33 percent who see the American Dream as out of reach, most cite economic barriers as their reason. Given lingering inflation concerns, higher gas prices, slow wage growth and expensive housing, that answer is not surprising. The good news is that only 8 percent of this skeptical group — 3 percent of the total sample — believe that the American Dream fundamentally doesn’t exist, a far harder problem to solve.
Americans also define the dream less in material terms than in civic and personal ones. More than 75 percent say that freedom of choice in how to live and having a good family life are the most essential aspects of the American Dream. Buying a house or becoming wealthy rank far lower.
Americans are still broadly patriotic too. In our survey, more than 80 percent agree that anyone can be patriotic regardless of religious background or political affiliation. Seventy-three percent say they are proud to be American, and slightly more say they believe patriotism can be a common cause that brings Americans together. Sixty-six percent say the American Dream is an important part of their patriotism.
The story Americans tell themselves defies their personal experiences but has nonetheless taken hold. If people are constantly told that the country is irredeemable, that its obstacles are permanent and that hope is naive, they will eventually believe it. While two-thirds say they have achieved or are on their way to achieving the American Dream, only 48 percent think most Americans can achieve it. That gap shows how pessimistic narratives distort reality.
Even in our own polling, views of the American Dream are more pessimistic than they were when we started our survey seven years ago. In 2022, only 18 percent of Americans in our survey believed the American Dream was out of reach. In four years, that number has nearly doubled. The economic barriers to the dream are real, but can be addressed through better policies. Occupational licensing reform and improving zoning regulations would make it easier for Americans to establish careers and make housing more affordable.
The best gift Americans can give themselves on the nation’s 250th birthday is to keep believing in the American Dream — not sentimentally, but actively. That means continuing to dream, taking practical steps to pursue human flourishing and building the socioeconomic conditions that allow more Americans to do the same.
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