Structural Mobility And Social Mobility

The American Dream has been a goal for people to strive to achieve for years. And although the concept hasn’t changed, accessibility of it has. For a person to achieve the American dream they need to have the ability to move up the social classes and reach a higher end of social status. This ability to move up and down social classes is called social mobility. In a stable economy a person should be able to move up and down the ladder freely based on their effort. Based on the definition of social mobility and the current state of the country, I believe that social mobility is not achievable for most Americans. Over time the ability for Americans to move up and down the social ladder has dwindled. Many get stuck at the bottom and are unable …show more content…
If neither class can move up or down based on effort and work alone then it is up to the standing of the surrounding economy to determine how and when people move across the social ladder. This type of movement is called structural mobility. Structural mobility is when the structure of society determines how you move up and down the social ladder. Structural mobility shows that those who are able to move up and down the social ladder easily have the ability to do so due to the surrounding circumstances. For example, a person who is trying to succeed during a high period for the economy, where businesses were expanding rapidly as well as unemployment rates being low have a better chance at rising to the top of the social ladder. The opposite is when a person is trying to become successful in a low economic period, where businesses are having troubles and unemployment is high. In this case that person would have little to no chance at rising in social status. Finally there are life chances which are a person’s ability to move up and down the social classes based on the circumstances they were given and choices available to …show more content…
Then the opposite is true for the higher class. Those born in high end neighborhoods have access to better schools and learning materials which makes it more likely for them to go to college and receive a high paying job. The opportunities presented to people based on where they are born and the economic standing greatly impact their social mobility. This means that for a person to achieve the American dream they would need to be born in the “right” area and have access to beneficial opportunities otherwise they will end up falling into the hole that is the lower class and be stuck there unable to get free. In my opinion social mobility is a dwindling concept that is no longer fair for both sides. In turn this makes achieving the American dream next to impossible for anyone who wasn’t born in the “right” circumstances and is only accessible to those who “got lucky”. This would defeat the belief that the American dream is achievable by anyone who works hard and is self-determined. Instead only those who have access to major opportunities are able to move forward and achieve the