How the World Perceives the New American Dream
And why today’s dream doesn’t export as well as the original
Does America Still Want the American Dream?
Twelve years after work began on a $2 billion entertainment complex in New Jersey, is another giant mall still an appealing vision?
Can There Be a Less Materialist American Dream?
The scholar and cultural critic Juliet Schor argues that the once-niche opposition to hyper-consumerism is becoming more mainstream.
Should Immigration Require Assimilation?
Every year, unique people—each with their own cultural history—become new citizens of the United States. Must they leave their own heritage behind?
Caught in the American Daydream
A portrait of a region
The Downsizing of the American Dream
People used to believe they would someday move on up in the world. Now they’re more concerned with just holding on to what they have.
American Suburbia, Refurbished
A short film about a realty company in Levittown, Pennsylvania
The American Dream House Only Worked in Dreams and Commercials
Leisure and domestic bliss never seemed to materialize as promised. But over the years people have found ways to break down the standard designs and craft spaces of their own.
Who Still Believes in the American Dream?
Portraits of a nation in search of a better life
The World According to Xi Jinping
China’s president has staked his reputation on fulfilling the “Chinese Dream.” Here’s what he envisions.
Why I Put My Wife’s Career First
The well-being of children, the status of women, and the happiness of men will depend on whether more fathers are willing to take on primary parenting roles.
Unions 30 Years Ago Are Somehow Making People Richer Today
People whose parents were in the labor movement decades ago are earning more today than those whose parents were not. Why?
The Terror and Tedium of Living Like Thoreau
When you’re alone in a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness, the simplest question becomes the most complicated: How do you fill a day?
As White Americans Give Up on the American Dream, Blacks and Hispanics Embrace It
A poll finds a split between those who fear the nation’s best days are behind it, and those who still believe better days lie ahead.
How America Lost Track of Ben Franklin’s Definition of Success
According to Franklin, what mattered in business was humility, restraint, and discipline. But today’s Type-A MBAs would find him qualified for little more than a career in middle management.
Photographing the American Dreamers
When we asked Atlantic readers to show us what a successful life looks like, we received hundreds of submissions from around the country. Then, we smashed them up.
From Dishwasher to Award-Winning Restaurateur
Hugo Ortega's journey from undocumented Mexican immigrant to owning three of Houston's top restaurants
The Life and Death of the American Lawn
Grasses—green, neatly trimmed, symbols of civic virtue—shaped the national landscape. They have now outlived their purpose.
Do Americans Still Dare to Dream Together?
As 2016 draws near, most report being satisfied with their own lives, but not with the direction of the country.
Born to Run and the Decline of the American Dream
Bruce Springsteen’s breakout album embodied the lost ‘70s—the tense, political, working-class rejection of an increasingly unequal society.
The Rise of a Colorado Cannabis Entrepreneur
How Wanda James, the first African American dispensary owner in the state, plans to tackle one of the fastest growing industries in America
Why the American Dream Will Never Die
Over the next two months, The Atlantic will explore many different visions of the American dream, in stories, videos, and photo essays.
Call for Submissions: What's Your Picture of the American Dream?
What does a successful life look like to Atlantic readers in the U.S. and abroad?
The American Dream: Personal Optimists, National Pessimists
A survey reveals a huge gap between Americans’ pessimism about the nation and their optimism about their own lives.
Why We're Still in Love With the American Dream
Even if middle-class ambitions are illusory, it sure helps to believe in them.
What Is the American Dream, Anyway?
Despite what some people think, it isn't to live a perfect life.