Stakes is High: Life After the American Dream

Smith elucidates the connection between economic justice and social justice, refuting the notion that poverty is nothing but a mindset, and that economic conditions are equal for all Americans. Smith compares capitalism in America to pimping, as he draws parallels to Iceberg Slim’s memoir Pimp, by pointing out that both pimping and capitalism rely on convincing their workforce by means of “an illusion […] a life of riches, decadence, a life where all the things you ever dreamed of are possible” (74). The pimp’s promise is equivalent to the American Dream, mythical and realistically unattainable for so many in America, but, as Smith reminds us, this is all done through the allure of seduction and empty promises. The workforce does not partake in the profits of its labors, nor do dreams and aspirations come to fruition. Smith goes on to argue that this pimp-like system of capitalism carries profound social implications, in its focus on individual success and prosperity at the expense of the well-being of an entire community or society. Where unbridled capitalism is the primary means of economic expression, even the desire of young Americans for new economic paradigms will falter.