Grit and Dreams: Character Strengths, Social Mobility, and the American Dream

Authors

Richard Reeves, Brookings InstitutionFollow

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

9-23-2014

Publisher

Brookings Mountain West

Abstract

The issue of social mobility is at the forefront of current political debate. President Obama has described it as ‘the defining challenge of our times.’ Paul Ryan says that the ‘engines of upward mobility have stalled.’ Most approaches to restoring the American dream focus on institutions: schools, companies, and colleges. There is growing evidence that individual character strengths -- especially grit (the capacity to stick with a task or a journey), and prudence (valuing future outcomes) - matter just as much as more tangible factors. Blending history, philosophy, and economics, in this public lecture I will argue that restoring the American dream requires us to recapture - and cultivate through policy - the ideal of American character.

Keywords

American Dream; Declaration of Independence (United States); Equality; Income; Political science; Poor; Rich people; Social classes

Disciplines

American Politics | Inequality and Stratification | Political Science

File Format

pdf

File Size

1.288 KB

Streaming Media

Language

English

Repository Citation

Reeves, R. (2014). Grit and Dreams: Character Strengths, Social Mobility, and the American Dream.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/brookings_lectures_events/78