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Furthermore, the era that followed World War II brought the promise of equal opportunity
much closer to reality for groups that had historically been excluded from the American
Dream. The civil rights revolution ended legal discrimination against native-born blacks,
nonwhite immigrants, and women. The explosive growth of higher education enabled the
children of working-class families to pursue college degrees for the first time. New laws
and policies enhanced the role of merit in decisions on hiring, firing, promotions, and
university admissions.
For evidence of America's enhanced commitment to equality of opportunity, one need go
no further than the local hospital or courthouse. In both, jobs that were once monopolized
by white men are now held by a diverse group of blacks, Latinos, Asians, immigrants (in
the case of hospitals), and of course women. Indeed, women are almost as likely to enroll
in medical or law school today as are men.
Not only did the United States make significant progress toward equality of opportunity
during the civil rights era, it also significantly equalized outcomes, especially among the
races. High rates of growth and industrial expansion during the 1950s and 1960s
facilitated the entry into the working class of millions of black workers, who found jobs
making automobiles, processing steel, or building machine tools.
Since the early 1970s, however, the American economy has experienced something of a
transformation. The old industry-based model has been supplanted by a model based on
education and technological expertise, along with services. The result has been a growth in
opportunity for those with the relevant credentials and abilities, and stagnation or decline
for those who lack such skills.
As is always the case during periods of economic change, there have been winners and
losers. But the bulk of the evidence suggests that in the current transition the winners are
restricted to a small proportion at the top while everyone else is experiencing economic
stagnation or decline. Over the past decade, economic gain has been limited to those in
the top ten percent while conditions for the vast majority have been flat or declined. Some
statistics even suggest that, looked at from the perspective of educational attainment, only
those with advanced degrees are moving ahead while those with a college degree or high
school education are treading water or losing ground. Some critics further contend that the
losers include many workers who have been consigned to the substantial and growing
low-wage economy. Others go further, arguing that in recent years equality of opportunity
has diminished both as an ideal and as an on-the-ground reality in the United States.
Although this criticism comes principally from the left, some conservatives have also
acknowledged that the United States has become a more unequal society as a result of
such trends as globalization and technological advancement. Alan Greenspan, the former
chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, has gone so far as to assert that the capitalist
system is threatened by growing inequality.
The question of whether American workers "need a raise," in the words of John J. Sweeney,
president of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-
CIO), has entered the political debate. During his initial presidential bid in 1992, Bill
Clinton campaigned on the theme that most Americans were not sharing in the riches
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