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The '''American Dream''' is the easy availability of upward mobility for Americans. It means an open society with a general upward trend in social status for the majority of citizens and their descendants. This contrasts with a tightly-structured society in which the status of one's ancestors determines one's life chances, or in which government planners make all major social choices (see [[Socialism]]). 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 the phrase==
:The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.<ref>Adams, ''Epic of America'' (1931) p.214-215</ref>
Among those who reject the American Dream, 46% of those younger than age 30 believe that Americans aren't entitled to a better life, which fits perfectly into their overall more global outlook. Almost as many of those young adults (44%) say that the cost of living is just too high for them to achieve the dream. Conservatives who don't believe in the American Dream are about 10 points more likely than liberals of the same mindset to say that the powerful don't care about them. These liberals are more likely (37%) than conservatives who have forsaken the American Dream (24%) to believe Americans shouldn't think of themselves as special and entitled to an ideal life.
A different poll sponsored in spring 2009 by the ''New York Times'' and ''CBS News'' showed 72% of Americans believed it is possible to start out poor in the United States, work hard and become rich — a classic definition of the American dream. 44% said they had actually achieved the American dream, although another 31% said they expect to attain it within their lifetime. Only 20% have given up on ever reaching it. In 2005 19% defined the Dream in terms of financial security and a steady job, and 20% gave answers that related to freedom and opportunity. In 2009 fewer people are pegging their dream to material success and more are pegging it to abstract values. Those citing financial security dropped to 11%, and those citing freedom and opportunity expanded to 27%.<ref>Katharine Q. Seelye, ''What Happens To The American Dream In A Recession?" [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/us/08dreampoll.html?_r=1&hp ''New York Times'' May 8, 2009]</ref>
Typican answers in the category of freedom and opportunity:
