Nick LaFreniere

English
F Block
10/6/16
Genes and the American Dream

What is the American dream? In Genes and the American Dream Adams
states is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of
social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the
fullest stature of which they are innately capable regardless of the
fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. All Americans should have an
equal opportunity to realize their genetic potential. The American dream is
disappearing from its origin as a result of the giant gap between social
classes, this gap is the reason heritability of IQ is different amongst Social
Economic statuses, however this dream is more of a reality for countries in
Western Europe and Australia.
The gap between the high and low social classes in the united states
has been becoming drastically bigger since the 1980s and is negatively
influencing the potential of achieving the American dream. Todays upper
income families are almost 7 times wealthier than middle income, the wealth
in the hands of the top 10% has doubled from 3.4 in 1934. However, average
upper income wealth is nearly seventy times more than the average lower
income wealth. The united states has come to the point where only 10% of
Americans are seeing their wealth grow, the other 90% continue to get less
and less each year. The top 10% are currently worth more than the entire

other 90%. The polarized social classes allow for the rich to have more
opportunities with easy access to education and suitable living conditions,
but the lower 90% is continuously losing their ability to receive a good
education or be raised in suitable living conditions. As the article Genes and
the American dream explains, there is a giant, increasing gap between
social classes. The number of people unable to access or achieve an
education continues to grow with it. With such distinct upper and lower class
there is no area in the middle where the two can meet to achieve the
American dream.
A study by Elliot Tucker Drop and Timothy bates reveals how the
envisioned American dream is in trouble. They conducted an experiment on
the IQ of twins. The experiment compared identical to fraternal twins IQ and
also gathered information on Social economic status such as income wealth
and education. The result was the Heritability of IQ was 61% at the 95th
percentile for SES, compared to only 24% at the 5th percentile. These studies
mean that genetic contribution to IQ varied as a function of SES. The cause
for this is the unequal access to living conditions that facilitate genetic
influence on intellectual functioning. The different Heritability of IQ between
SES shows how far away the United states is from an equal society where
genes arent impacted by your SES. The United States is not providing a high
enough uniform standard of living and is leaving a gap between the over
privileged and the under privileged. Low SES families cannot experience the
American dream because of what they are born into. Their social class limits

their intellectual potential and their access to resources necessary for

achieving the American dream.
The dream of equal opportunity no matter where or what someone is
born into is the American dream, however the U.S. is not included in the few
places this dream is achieved. Similar to the U.S IQ heritability, studies were
conducted in parts of western Europe and Australia. The results were
significantly different; heritability of IQ was statistically no different across all
levels of SES. The reason for this is countries such as Sweden, Australia, and
Germany have a higher standard for components necessary to achieving
equal heritability for all SES. These countries have social policies that create
living conditions beneficial for intellectual functioning and all people have
nearly equal access to quality education, healthcare, and child poverty rates
are very low. In the article Genes and the American dream Adams says
much like fertile soil allows plants to reach their maximum height, these
conditions are hypothesized to promote the expression of any genetic
differences in IQ that exist. This being said, it demonstrates how the united
states does not have fertile soil or higher standards that equally apply for
all SES. The result of a countries base line standard of living has an influence
on genetics and the heritability of IQ, further demonstrating how the
American dream is no longer achievable in the U.S.
The American dream is disappearing and opportunities are not uniform
throughout all Social Economic Status. The United States has a large gap
between the upper and lower classes. The upper classes increasing wealth is

pushing the lower class further and further away from having access to
resources necessary to achieve the American dream. Studies have proven
the heritability of IQ is different amongst various SES, the genetically
inherited lower IQ prevents the lower class from equal opportunity. Other
countries are closer to achieving this goal due to the standardized living
conditions resulting in no difference in IQ heritability amongst Social
Economic Status. The chances of achieving the American Dream was once a
possibility but as social classes continuously become more diverted, the
possibility of reaching the American dream is in jeopardy.

Bibliography:
ThinkProgress. "The Wealth Gap Between Rich And Poor Is The Widest Ever
Recorded." ThinkProgress. N.p., 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.

Hambrick, David Z. "Genes and the American Dream." Scientific American. N.p., 21 Mar.
2016. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.