Bangladesh through the ‘American Dream’ loupe

The United States of America has for decades been known as the land of opportunity. Quite interestingly, till today, the country has that place, and aspiring people from all over the world have an interest in finding shelter in that land, no matter what! They are fascinated by the long-preached ‘American Dream’, a term with grave meaning that was first coined in 1931 as a concept for upward mobility.

At that time, the Americans suffered through the Great Depression, and historian James Truslow Adams wrote a book called ‘The Epic of America’, where he mentioned the American Dream as “that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”

Decades later, the term got different explanations from different quarters, but the American Dream still conveys that meaning, and as a concept, it has since become an ideal that represents the aspirations of many people to achieve success, upward mobility, and a better life in a globalized world. Meanwhile, the concept also grew popular among the developing nations as the most dominant western development model, modernisation, took charge of the cockpit.

Bangladesh, as a developing South Asian nation, has impressively grown for more than a decade with an average GDP growth rate of 6.5%. Its substantiated resilience allowed it to proceed through all odds and keep the ever-growing population fed and safe. Bangladesh’s ongoing journey towards development—making it a land where life would be better and richer and fuller for everyone—seems to be on the right track with multiple landmarks of economic growth like the Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, and more.

However, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen argued in his book ‘Development as Freedom’ that identifying development with GDP, GNP, a rise in personal incomes, technological advancement, industrialisation, or social modernisation are narrower views of development. Though they are highly important indicators of development, they can’t project the picture as a whole.

Since the 1950s, the world has seen numerous development initiatives that drive economic growth and help create opulence, subsequently teaching that just a pile of opulence may not be that effective in making people’s lives full of opportunities. As the Social Progress Index suggests, to achieve that, we need social and environmental progress while providing the people with basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity. Scores in these three main factors, which have several sub-factors, can demonstrate a country’s social progress and its capability to ensure an ambience for people to achieve success, upward mobility, and a better life— the gist of the American Dream.

The latest version of that global index, released in 2022 depicts that, among 169 countries, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Switzerland topped the list as having the highest level of social progress, with a score between 90-91. Where Japan, Canada, United States, India, and Bangladesh were ranked at positions 9, 10, 25, 110, and 119, respectively.

Bangladesh’s score on the index’s scoreboard was 56.06, while the rankings in providing people with basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity among other countries were respectively 112, 121, and 146. In terms of the sub-factors, the rankings were relatively well in areas such as access to basic knowledge, water and sanitation, and nutrition and basic medical care. Whereas ranking in environmental quality was 155 among 169 countries.

In the same index, Bangladesh’s ranking in 2013 was 124. Therefore, it’s evident that the country is pushing ahead in achieving social progress. Bangladesh has already achieved notable progress with its significant strides in economic growth and poverty reduction. Nevertheless, headwinds in areas like education, healthcare, social inclusion, the environment, tolerance, transparency, and personal freedom, choice and rights are posing a great threat to unlocking its true potential. Prioritizing attention and investments in these areas is imperative to creating a more prosperous and equitable society.

* Asif Mahmud is a learner in the communication sector and can be reached at [email protected]