ABSTRACT
THE BELIEF IN SOCIAL MOBILITY holds a strategic place among American values. It is a hub around which much of what Americans believe revolves, whether it is shouted as a platitude or cynically rejected. The creed of egalitarianism means not only that we are social equals, though not economic equals, but even more to the point, that the class structure is open and available. The positions at the top are open to those who have the talents, aptitudes, and whatever else it takes to reach them. At the same time, of course, we must be prepared to accept the corollary: those who do not reach the top do not deserve to. Americans of all classes have held to this belief and have made it legend. The honor roll is filled with the names of heroes who give substance to the legend, and in every period there is always a fresh example of someone who has gone from rags to riches. The legend continues to remain alive and real, to the cynics as to the patriots. Horatio Alger awards, for example, are still being presented to those who most adequately personify the exploits of that hero. The award—a bronze desk plaque—was ceremoniously presented in 1958 to eight men, including a president and chairman of an investment banking firm who had been a railroad brakeman, factory laborer, and board boy in a brokerage house; a chairman of the board of a trading stamp company who had been a newsboy, Western Union messenger, errand boy, and grocery store clerk; and to the president of a coal company who had been a newsboy, barber and traveling salesman. These are the heroic achievements of social mobility and the just rewards—dramatic evidence of the verisimilitude of the Alger legend. Or so it is for some.
