Pride: The Driving Force In American Economics

In today’s society, the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer. Why is it that our “land of opportunity” society is so filled with so much inequality? The poor are often the ones with losses. According to Joseph E. Stiglitz, the author of “ Rent Seeking And The Making Of An Unequal Society”, individuals of society are made to believe that: “The poor, in this land of opportunity, have only themselves to blame.” Millions of individuals in our society are losing jobs daily, but the one percent of the top class is not losing their jobs. As a result of this inequality, an egocentric and a society filled with inequality has formed. In Robert Thurman’s essay, “Wisdom”, Thurman claims that a society filled with inequality is formed as a result of giving importance to the self. However this claim can be falsified by comparing it to the text by Martha Stout, “When I Woke up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday”. In Martha Stout ‘s text her patient, Julia is extremely successful. Along with her successes Julia does not give much importance to her self. Julia often disassociates from reality is unsure of her self, so she cannot give much importance to her self. Considering this it is accurate to hypothesize that our society filled with inequality is not resulting from individuals giving importance to the self. However , it can be justified to blame the top one percent for the inequality in our nation. The selfish behavior

In Henry Veldboom’s article, “Our Wealth, Where is It Taking Us?”, Veldboom addresses the negative impact of capitalism on American society as well as its possible ramifications in the future. The paper begins by describing the relationship that the West associates with wealth and happiness. After drawing from this relationship Veldboom describes how the birth of post-industrial capitalism gave rise to consumerism. The text defines consumerism as a desire to acquire goods in order to fulfill a person's belief that each acquired good serves as a benefactor and a necessity. Moreover, Veldboom draws the conclusion that this type of reasoning perpetuates capitalism and gives businesses the ability to exploit people using marketing techniques

The American Dream has distorted the way some people think about success. They now believe that they need money to be successful and happy, which drives them to gain more. Wikipedia defines the American Dream as the “belief in the freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States to achieve their goals in life through hard work” (“The American Dream” 1) Wikipedia defines greed as the “desire to acquire beyond the needs of the individual, especially when this accumulation of possession is the selfish desire for a pursuit of money, wealth, power, or other possessions” (“Greed” 1). This being said, greed only extends the American Dream. It takes the original roots of the aspiration of success and turns it into something where people could be harmed. “Greed is driven by the desire to obtain in excess,

is that leading in material gain” (Pidgeon 2). The American society has made its people focus so much on making money and material gain that the people forget the real things in life that matter, and the things that are actually achievable. People may think that money can achieve all goals in life, but in actuality it cannot because money cannot buy happiness nor can it fulfill all dreams. “From Jay Gatsby… to Tony Soprano… the woefully wealthy are among the seminal figures of literature, film and television… extolling the lifestyles of the rich and famous while exposing the sadness of celebrity” (Zane 1). The power of money and materialism make people forget about who oneself really is and lose a sense of selfhood. Money over powers the things

Society associates wealth and pleasure with the American Dream. This causes the feeling of wealth being required in order to fulfill the Dream. In the novel, the American

Man, I used to love a Saturday night in the fall it gives me a sense of pride. I mean, All I had was a trailer home that is destroyed in the desert with a 15 inch TV and a destroyed sofa. But you know it wasn’t all that bad I was able to get up and relax and enjoy myself and I had no cares in the world. I got up and so I wanted to see if I had gotten any mail, and when I went to go and get the mail and it was all dusty. So I sat it on the porch and set it beside me. I didn’t feel like reading it so I set on the counter and sat down to watch some TV and then I fell asleep on the couch. The next week, I woke up wet on a rainy day. It has been a week without looking at the mail and that bothered me so I sat down and pulled the mail out of the envelope. It was a letter and some bills. But I was more concerned about the letter than I was the bills because of the fact that It came with yellow tape to it. But for me, that was a little off I wasn’t used to that. So that was the first thing I opened.

In most cultures around the world there are the distinct designations of the rich, the poor, and the in-between. These fundamental boundaries between one economic class and another cause many to lose faith in the ideal in which they so firmly wish to believe. In 1920’s America, the polarization of the West and East created a situation where many began to see materialism as the marker that illustrated the achievement of the American dream. However, where people people are in a state of power and luxury, they will do anything to maintain that status.

The American dream states and requires that everybody in the American society be equal especially in the fulfillment of happiness, liberty, and general life. People have diverted from the ability to achieve the equality as outlined in the dream. There is a need to collect wealth as much as possible whenever one has the opportunity. For example, characters

The America I believe in is a country prided on freedom. We have been pushed beyond our limits and knocked down,but we are a strong country that cannot be beaten. Many countries as well as terrorist groups have tried to beat us,but we have,came out of it victorious. We are a nation under God,indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We have made mistakes like any other country,but we have fixed those mistakes and that is what is important.

Americans should be able to stand and show pride for their race and not be criticized on media or in person. Many people have different ways to show their pride for their race like kneeling in between the anthem like Colin Kaepernick or turning their back, which should not be anything to be criticized about it is just a way of expressing yourself . According to Tommie Smith, a Olympic Runner in 1968 ''I support him because he's bringing the truth out-regardless of how done.'' Many people actually support Kaepernick's decision which is not a bad thing because they know why he does what he does, not like other people who just criticize because it seems like he is insulting a flag that is ''sacred''.  Standing up for something that you believe

In the nineteenth century America was flourishing; it was coasting on new inventions and ideas like the cotton gin, steam engine and manifest destiny. However, through this all, the balance of social and economical order was being weighed in favor of the wealthy and powerful. All American societies dating way back to the very first at Jamestown and Plymouth, have had social stratifications. As the population has grown in America, and the capacity for industry and wealth increased, the stratification has only become more staggering. There is a natural tendency for dominance, power, and greed amongst millions of Americans. This is tendency is prevalent going all the way back to the nineteenth century. This said tendency for dominance and power, is a prime factor of discrimination and stratification. In the nineteenth century, as the wealthy grew wealthier, and the poor grew poorer, there was a great overlying debate over the social class and economic differences and their justification. Some defended this difference in social and economic standing. These included social darwinists, slave owners, and the richest of monopolizers. Others, like abolitionists and social reform groups, challenged this idea of a staggering social and economic order. Each faction gathered used a whole array of ideas to prove their points. In the nineteenth century, many Americans challenged the stratification of the economic and social order using moral, scientific, and philosophical ideas,

Pride is a simple word that everyone feels they know the meaning to, but is often hard to describe. If a group of people was asked to define pride, many different answers would emerge. Some may give an example of pride in order to define it, and some may use the common phrase of “being proud of something” as the definition. But, what one person may take pride in could be considered as a normal or natural thing to another. Additionally, while pride has a positive connotation to most, some consider pride (or too much pride) a bad thing. Ultimately, pride encompasses self respect, satisfaction in doing what is right individually or within a team, and having a sense of accomplishment.

Do to the influence of money, society has chosen to sacrifice happiness in hopes of the ability to obtaining the American Dream. People work at jobs they hate to earn an income that will only chase the ever elusive American Dream illusion. Society today has made the American Dream an illusion driven by a monetary success. It has made the American standard for everyone to make it big become rich without doing very little work. Although that one could dream of success, not everyone can be rich and famous; hard work does not guarantee their success, little work does guarantee their successful either. Successful are no more honorable than the unsuccessful or

From the settlement of Jamestown and Plymouth colonies to modern times, Americans have always been determined to improve themselves both economically and socially. Even today, we are attempting to make society better by extending marriage rights to homosexuals and arguing the merits of flying the Confederate Battle flag over government buildings in non-historical situations. At the same time, concerns such as the impact of the Greek economic collapse on American business and the long-term cost of the Office of Personnel Management 's data breech impact our belief in the continued economic improvement of our society. Arguments about the truth behind the "American Dream" and its reality for minority Americans leave many wondering and confused about our ability as a society to balance the desire to "do good" socially with our ability to "do well" economically.

Our American values makes us feel that we are more improved than competing countries because we are independent and offer culture and equality. Americans value their independence because they don't want to be the tyrants that they accused of ruining their lives and a chance for fairness. To become more than what they were told to be, but to have a chance at becoming something more. "Here Individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men" (Crevecoeur). Crevecoeur shows that men were not satisfied with the level of equality that was being given, and wanted to create a place where their children's children could have opportunities based on their talents and not their social class. To not be discriminated on what they believe in or