The American dream’s meaning depends on whether one frames success individually or collectively

Evidence

To some, the American dream is necessarily individualist. The ideology is intended to create a structure within which each person can rise or fall according to his or her merit alone. Some individualists reluctantly support affirmative action on the grounds that it is a necessary way station on the path from racial domination to race-blind individualism. But most see affirmative action as a denial of the deepest tenets of the American dream, since in their eyes it gives special privileges to some at the expense of others. The government formerly discriminated in favor of whites, and now it discriminates in favor of blacks - those are equal violations of the ideology of the American dream and they should be equally prohibited. … To others, the American dream is not necessarily individualist. The ideology can be just as well interpreted to mean that groups have the right to pursue success collectively. Until a group succeeds according to its members’ own shared vision, the individuals within it cannot attain their dreams (alternatively, the pursuit of group success shapes and directs individuals’ dreams). In the eyes of those committed to group identity as a defining characteristic of social engagement, prior (or current) discrimination in favor of whites is not symmetrical with current proactive efforts to benefit blacks. Until the two races are equal in political power, economic means, social status, and cultural autonomy, equality of opportunity does not exist in the United States and calls for symmetry are a mere pretence for continued domination. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 2011

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains two rival interpretations of the American dream ideology underpinning the affirmative action debate.