2019-12-11 Level 7: the American dream

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: find your book and bring it tomorrow
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What is the “American Dream”?
meritocracy = government by the most able or talented people
	(More generally: a system in which people are rewarded proportionately to their abilities.)
Peter principle: “an employee is promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent”
	"In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties."
- How could we prevent this from happening in a meritocratic hierarchy?
	talent management (especially for successors)
(There’s also the option of not using a hierarchical structure in the first place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holacracy)
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Watch the video and take notes:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/us/1194840031120/defining-the-american-dream.html
Information about the poll: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/us/08dreampoll.html
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/03/06/the_american_dream_not_dead_--_yet_139659.html - more recent poll

“It was palpably available to people.”
	palpable = tangible or almost tangible

The man in the video says you needed hard work “and a little bit of luck” to acheive the (financial version of the) American Dream.
How much luck do you think is necessary in the US, compared to your country?
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https://www.gapminder.org/tools/ - Current and historical data about many things in many countries.
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BREAK
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Can you buy happiness?
Watch the TED talk on how to buy happiness.
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness
Why do people give to charities?
What is the purpose of government?
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just-world fallacy = belief that the world is just and fair, and that therefore if good or bad things happen to you it’s because of good or bad things you’ve done
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After seatbelts became required in all cars, the number of emergency-room visits for car accidents increased.
Therefore, seatbelts caused injuries.

- The real explanation is that many people who would have died without seatbelts were only injured with seatbelts. They’re going to the ER instead of to the morgue.
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p. 344 - Vocabulary for homework:
imprint - “This legacy left a deep imprint on American culture.”
	A lasting mark that is the result of something else. (“a lasting impression” is similar)
untethered - “The American dream has become increasingly untethered from American reality.”
	A tether is a rope that connects two things. “untethered” is similar to “disconnected”
delusion = a strong belief in something false or irrational
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Homework: read “The Mobility Myth”