Maybe it was true at one point that anyone could move upwards in class with enough determination, but it seems to be really rare now. Regardless, in social settings people still act as if it's a thing.
In other cultures people seem to be less oblivious to the idea that upward social mobility is incredibly difficult.
Being of a somewhat established middle class background before moving to the US to “make it big” is not the American dream.
So in that sense it’s most definitely an illusion.
Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google, and Microsoft all have a lower share of white workers than the general US population.
I myself work in tech and have nice academic credentials and all, and I come from from a “working class” background. I would never consider that the American dream though, because it was all paid through the welfare state of the country that I live in, and not because of any particular fortuitous circumstances.
That I use American-invented technology to generate revenue seems to be wholly besides the point of the American dream.
> I would never consider that the American dream though, because it was all paid through the welfare state of the country that I live in, and not because of any particular fortuitous circumstances.
Not the American dream? Education even if subsidized by the state (more so 30 years ago) still involves a lot of work, we still had to study hard while getting through our part time jobs to cover living expenses.
These things aren't unrelated or coincidentally occurring in the same place though. The US permits kinds and degrees of exploitation in the name of building wealth that are not possible or acceptable in its "peer" nations.