The American Dream 'Exists,' But What is the Reality?
Too Long; Didn't Read
In 1788, George Washington predicted that America would be “the most favorable country of any in the world for persons of industry and frugality,” ideal for even those in the lowest social classes to immigrate to, given “the equal distribution of property, the great plenty of unoccupied lands, and the facility of procuring the means of subsistence.” Opportunity, he argued, was inherent in its vast lands and religious tolerance.
In 2016, 228 years later, Alex Zhu, the co-CEO of Musical.ly and later VP of product at Bytedance, echoed these sentiments in the context of starting a new social network.
Launching a new platform, he said, was like starting a new country: Getting users to move from an established network that had an ossified economy and social classes to a new network requires the possibility of success—the lure of the American Dream.