Money and power are among the main yardsticks which success in life is measured today. America has come to be known as the “land of opportunities” because it gives people an equal chance to prosper regardless of their social economic and political background. Americans have always been proud of their status and country. However, the United States is no longer regarded in high esteem as was the case a few years ago and many countries now view it in a negative way.
Americans are no longer as proud of their country because they have to struggle with the harsh economic conditions, compared with their counterparts in Europe. The line between the “American Dream” and capitalism is very thin and for this reason Americans have always known that through hard work they can become successful.
Although there are many ways to define success power and money are two of the generally accepted measures of success (World Public Opinion, 2007). The United States is supposed to be a country where everybody can attain the American dream through hard work and ingenuity regardless of their socioeconomic background. However in the last 30 years, the American dream has turned into the American nightmare. This is because the economy has not been doing very well, meaning that jobs are hard to come by.
An opinion poll that was conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that many of the countries surveyed still dislike the United States. In addition, not many countries view Americans positively (Pew Research Center, 2007). The negative image of the United States and its people is so great that even the most popular policies in the country cannot repair it fully.
Majority of the traditional allies of America have an unfavorable opinion about the country and its people, with Canada and Great Britain as the only exceptions. According to the survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, China is gaining more popularity compared with the United States because of its constant economic growth, even in the face of the recent global financial crisis.
On the other hand, the economic growth of China has elicited mixed reactions with the pluralists and majorities in Spain and France arguing that the economic growth of China would impact negatively on their respective countries.
In spite of the recent negative views of the American people and their country, majority of the Western countries who took part in the survey associate Americans with such positive characteristics as “inventive”, “honest” and hardworking (Pew Research Center, 2007). On the other hand, a big number of the participants also associate the Americans with such negative characteristics “violent” and “greedy”.
GlobeScan and BBC World Service commissioned a poll that was conducted by World Public Opinion in 26 countries to determine if the United States has impacted on the world negatively or positively. Of the 26 countries that took part in the poll, “30 percent say the US is having a mostly positive influence in the world while 51 percent say the US is having a mostly negative influence” (World Public Opinion, 2007).
In addition, 20 of the countries that took part in the survey had a negative view about the United States. Only four countries were of the opinion that the United States has impacted on the world positively. On the other hand, two of the countries had evenly divided views over the issue.
Many researchers have focused on the existing cross-country differences with regard to their subjective well-being. Many of these students have tried to compare the United States with Europe and in this case the United States seems to rank lower in regard to levels of satisfaction compared with countries in Europe, who have lesser per capita incomes. For example, because there is a great deal of mobility in the United States, Americans manifest a mild distaste for inequality compared to their counterparts in Europe.
In the last couple of years, trends in the well-being of Americans have declined tremendously and as a result, the incomes of most Americans have reduced (Wessle, 2005). Jobs in America are to come by and the available ones do not pay as much and as such, Americans can no longer enjoy life like they once did. As a result, most Americans have not changed their view about their country and they no longer see it as a land of opportunity.
Although Americans are thought to be extremely upwardly mobile, in reality, this is more complicated that we might imagine. Since 1970 the gap between the poor and the rich has increased tremendously and as a result, it remains exceedingly hard for a child born in poverty for example, to attain wealth and power.
Even with affirmative action social change in the community and increased opportunities for education, the economy is still not doing well, and this means that the upward mobility of Americans is limited. Already Americans are slowly realizing that their country is no longer a place for exceptional opportunity because they are faced with daily struggles.
Through years of research scholars and researchers have come to the realization that contrary to what they thought, the American society is less mobile. During the late 1980s, economists conducted numerous studies that revealed that children in America now only get a limited amount advantage that was the case years ago. Again this is proof that modern day America is very different from that of the 1960s.
A report by Globalscan notes that “within Europe there has been a hardening of negative attitudes toward America compared to a year ago” (Globalscan n. d.). In France, negative views about the United States increased from 54 % to 65 %, according to the poll, while in Great Britain, the negative views increased from 50% to 57%. On the other hand, 46% of pluralists Italians view the United States and the Americans negatively.
This is in comparison with 2004, when only 40 percent of the respondent had a negative view of the Americans and America. The Chinese have also increased their negative view of the Americans (from 42% to 62 %), as well as the Brazilians (whose negative view of the Americans has increased dramatically from 51% to 60 %).
America was once regarded as the land of opportunities because anybody could enjoy increased social status regardless of their social, economic, and political background. However, this is no longer the case, seeing that the country’s social and economic structures are no longer as robust as they once were. Consequently, Americans now have a negative view about their country, while other countries in the world also are increasingly viewing Americans and America in a negative way.
Reference List
Globalscan. BBC poll: attitude towards countries. Web.
Pew Research Center. (2007). America’s Image in the World: Findings from the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Web.
Wessle, D. (2005). Escalator Ride As Rich-Poor Gap Widens in the U.S., Class Mobility Stalls. Web.
World Public Opinion. (2007). America’s image in the world. Web.