By John Peterson
After the American Civil War, and particularly towards the end of the 1800s, US capitalism busied itself with consolidating and expanding its power, wealth, and spheres of influence. Commonly referred to as the "Golden Age" of the "robber barons", it was an era rife with the bare excesses of capitalism. This was a period of brazen imperialist wars and ambitions combined with demagogic appeals to "freedom" and "liberty". The gang controlling Tammany Hall exemplified the most blatant political intrigue and corruption. The monopolization of steel, coal, railways, and oil led to the unprecedented concentration of colossal wealth in a few hands - the Carnegies, Vanderbilts, Hearsts, Morgans, and Rockefellers.
But for most Americans, there was tremendous poverty, oppression, and overwork. Overcrowding in the slums of the big industrial centers was compounded as the land in the West began to run out, former slaves began their northward and westward migration, and millions of immigrants arrived in search of a better life. Despite the heroic efforts of the working class to form mass organizations of labor in the form of trade unions and political parties, working and living conditions were a nightmare for the vast majority of Americans.
It was in these conditions that the myth of the "American Dream" took hold. The example of Andrew Carnegie, who rose from extreme poverty to tremendous wealth and power was touted as an example for everyone to follow. If you worked hard enough, even the lowliest worker could rise through the ranks to the pinnacle of society. During this period, Horatio Alger Jr. was among the most popular of all American authors.
Although the names usually changed, the heroes depicted in his 118 books, 280 novels in magazines, and more than 500 short stories are remarkably similar. They are young, downtrodden, and without prospects for a better future; but with hard work, determination, and "pluck", his characters are able to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and become successful, wealthy, and respected. With characters like "Ragged Dick", "Tattered Tom", and "Jack the Bootblack", Alger’s penny novels were wildly popular and gave hope to millions of street urchins and all those with little to look forward to. "Strive and succeed!" was the morale of Alger’s stories.
The idea that low wage work is just a temporary stage towards an ever-brighter and more prosperous future has become deeply engrained in the American psyche. The ruling class uses success stories of the Alger type to justify the fact that millions of working people live under the poverty line. We are told that if we work hard and "play by the rules", we will be able to earn a decent living - if you fail to move up, you must be lazy or incompetent.
30 million Americans – more than a quarter of the working class -
earn $8.70 an hour or less, a rate that works out to $18,100 a year, which is the current
official poverty
level in the United States for a family of four. For most young workers, the situation is
even worse. These are often the most repetitious, dangerous, grueling, humiliating, and
monotonous jobs – but many of these workers feel "lucky" to have a job at
all! Many Americans take these jobs in hope that something better will open up in the
future. All too often, they find themselves doing the same type of work many years or even
decades later.
The situation is far worse in the US than in other advanced
industrialized countries that provide social safety nets for the working class, including
universal health care (although the ruling classes there are in the process of dismantling
these programs in the face of stiff resistance from the working class). According to a
1997 study by Timothy Smeeding of Syracuse University, Americans in the lowest income
brackets have living standards that are 13 percent below those of low-income Germans and
24 percent below the bottom 20 percent of Swedes. The slashing of social programs over the
past decade has left the millions of un- and under-employed Americans in a desperate
situation. Under these conditions, it is frankly amazing that the number of tragic
workplace shootings by "disgruntled workers" is not higher than it already is.
Still, we are told that if we are "re-trained" and learn new job skills, things
will get better – it is our own fault that we lack the necessary skills for finding a
better job. But the truth is that the number of low-wage jobs is increasing, not
shrinking, despite "re-training". Between 1979 and 1999, 3 million manufacturing
jobs vanished as global trade brought in textiles, shoes, cars and steel produced by
cheaper overseas labor. In June 2003 alone, 56,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. The two
lowest-paid work categories, retail and service, increased their share of the job market
from 30 percent to 48 percent between 1965 and 1998. By the end of the decade, the low end
of the job market will account for more than 30 percent of the American work force.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of all new jobs by 2010 will
require relatively brief on-the-job training. Only three of every 10 positions currently
require more than a high school diploma. As explained above, these jobs are not only among
the worst paid, they are also among the most tedious and difficult. To say these workers
need "retraining" to earn more lets the bosses off the hook for failing to
compensate them appropriately for their existing skills and duties.
The fact of the matter is that low-wage job mobility is almost non-existent. A recent study by the University of Michigan found that about half of those whose earnings ranked in the bottom 20 percent in 1968 were still in the same group in 1991. Of those who had moved up, nearly two-thirds remained below the median income. At the same time, the purchasing power of the federal minimum wage fell 30 percent during the 1980s. According to the Economic Policy Institute, despite minimal increases in the 1990s, the real value of the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour is still 21 percent less than it was in 1979.
John Lennon, in his classic song Working Class Hero, reminds us of one of the bosses’ favorite refrains: "there’s room at the top they’re telling you still". The raw figures given above, and more importantly, the daily experience of millions of American workers expose this line for what it is – a deceitful utopia which the capitalist class itself doesn’t believe in. It is nothing but a lie intended to blur the lines between the classes, and to give false hope to the millions of working people who genuinely want to improve their lives, and don’t mind working hard to do so.
This is the reality of the "American Dream" over a hundred years after Horatio Alger Jr. first inspired millions to "strive and succeed!" If the ruling class has been unable to make the American Dream a reality – despite having at its disposal unimaginable wealth and more than a century in which to do it – they don’t deserve to run the show anymore. The working class makes up the vast majority of American society. Only by taking political and economic power into the hands of this majority can we build a system based on the democratic running of society in the interests of all.
(Thanks to Beth Shulman and her article "Four myths, 30 Million Potential Votes" for many of these facts and figures)