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Reuters

How the World Perceives the New American Dream

And why today’s dream doesn’t export as well as the original

  • Martha Bayles
October 10, 2015
American Dream

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?

  • Amanda Kolson Hurley
October 9, 2015
Mike Blake / Reuters

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.

  • Rebecca J. Rosen
October 7, 2015
COD Newsroom / Flickr

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?

  • Tom Gjelten
October 3, 2015
Danny Ghitis

Caught in the American Daydream

A portrait of a region

  • Emily Anne Epstein
October 2, 2015
Mike Segar / Reuters

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.

  • Marianne Cooper
October 2, 2015

American Suburbia, Refurbished

A short film about a realty company in Levittown, Pennsylvania

  • The Editors
September 28, 2015
An aerial view of a suburban neighborhood
Mike Blake / Reuters

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.

  • Sarah Rich
September 25, 2015
A group of young Black children smile for the camera.
Chris Arnade

Who Still Believes in the American Dream?

Portraits of a nation in search of a better life

  • Chris Arnade
September 23, 2015
Reuters

The World According to Xi Jinping

China’s president has staked his reputation on fulfilling the “Chinese Dream.” Here’s what he envisions.

  • Benjamin Carlson
September 21, 2015

The 'Too Good' Life

  • Rebecca J. Rosen
September 17, 2015
Thomas Allen

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.

  • Andrew Moravcsik
September 10, 2015
Chewie Pug / Flickr

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?

  • Rebecca J. Rosen
September 9, 2015
Diana Saverin

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?

  • Diana Saverin
September 9, 2015
Jonathan Ernst / AP

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.

  • Russell Berman
September 4, 2015
In Green / Shutterstock

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.

  • John Paul Rollert
September 2, 2015
Calla Kessler / EchoSight / The Atlantic

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.

  • Emily Anne Epstein
September 2, 2015

From Dishwasher to Award-Winning Restaurateur

Hugo Ortega's journey from undocumented Mexican immigrant to owning three of Houston's top restaurants

  • The Editors
August 31, 2015
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

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.

  • Megan Garber
August 28, 2015
Jacquelyn Martin / AP

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.

  • Russell Berman
August 28, 2015
David Gahr / Shore Fire Media

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.

  • Joshua Zeitz
August 24, 2015

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

  • The Editors
August 17, 2015
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

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.

  • Matt Thompson
August 17, 2015
Lucy Nicholson / Eric Thayer / Reuters / Echo/Sight / The Atlantic

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?

  • Emily Anne Epstein
July 20, 2015
Roger Sayles / Flickr

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.

  • Don Baer
  • Mark Penn
July 1, 2015
Mike Babiarz / Flickr

Why We're Still in Love With the American Dream

Even if middle-class ambitions are illusory, it sure helps to believe in them.

  • James Fallows
April 26, 2013
Pilar Olivares / Reuters

What Is the American Dream, Anyway?

Despite what some people think, it isn't to live a perfect life.

  • Daniel Indiviglio
July 7, 2010
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