Open AccessIdeological Domination: Deconstructing the Paradox of the American Dream and the Working Class Promise
Author(s) -
Betty Stoneman
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
stance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-1899
pISSN - 1943-1880
DOI - 10.33043/s.7.1.105-114
Subject(s) - ideology , dream , inequality , sociology , social inequality , social class , order (exchange) , working class , economic inequality , gender studies , political economy , political science , economics , psychology , politics , law , mathematical analysis , mathematics , finance , neuroscience
The “American Dream” and “Working Class Promise” ideologies are ubiquitously dispersed in American society. These ideologies posit values of equality and opportunity. In this paper, I deconstruct these two ideologies in order to examine the effects these ideologies have on income inequality, social inequality, and social immobility. I argue these ideologies create a paradox in society whereby the more theseideologies are believed, the more the ideologies exacerbate income inequality, social inequality, and social immobility.