The European Dream

The European Dream by Jeremy Rifkin published in 2004 by Tarcher/Penguin

The European Dream by Jeremy Rifkin Tarcher/Penguin 2004

The American Dream is becoming ever more elusive. Americans are increasingly overworked, underpaid, squeezed for time, and unsure about their prospects for a better life. One third of all Americans say they no longer even believe in the American Dream.

While the American Dream is languishing, says bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin, a new European Dream is capturing the attention and imagination of the world. Twenty-five nations, representing 455 million people, have joined together to create a United States of Europe.

The European Union’s GDP now rivals the United States’, making it the largest economy in the world. The EU is already the world’s leading exporter and largest internal trading market. Moreover, much of Europe enjoys a longer life span and greater literacy, and has less poverty and crime, less blight and sprawl, longer vacations, and shorter commutes to work than we do in the United States. When one considers what makes a people great and what constitutes a better way of life, observes Rifkin, Europe is beginning to surpass America.

More important, Europe has become a giant laboratory for rethinking humanity’s future. In many respects, the European Dream is the mirror opposite of the American Dream. While the American Dream emphasizes unrestrained economic growth, personal wealth, and the pursuit of individual self-interest, the European Dream focuses more on sustainable development, quality of life, and the nurturing of community.

We Americans live (and die) by the work ethic and the dictates of efficiency. Europeans place more of a premium on leisure and even idleness. America has always seen itself as a great melting pot. Europeans, instead, prefer to preserve their rich multicultural diversity. We believe in maintaining an unrivaled military presence in the world. Europeans, by contrast, emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to foreign policy.

All of this does not suggest that Europe has suddenly become a utopia. Its problems, Rifkin cautions, are complex and its weaknesses are glaringly transparent. And, of course, Europeans’ high-mindedness is often riddled with hypocrisy. The point, however, is not whether Europeans are living up to the dream they have for themselves. We have never fully lived up to the American Dream. Rather, what’s crucial, notes Rifkin, is that Europe is articulating a bold new vision for the future of humanity that differs in many of its most fundamental aspects from America’s.

Rifkin draws on more than twenty years of personal experience working in Europe, where he has advised heads of state and political parties, consulted with Europe’s leading companies, and helped spur grassroots environmental and social justice campaigns. The author delves into the history of Europe, from the medieval era to postmodernity, to capture the soul of the new European consciousness.

Two hundred years ago, America’s founders created a new dream for humanity that transformed the world. Today, suggests Rifkin, a new generation of Europeans is creating a radical new dream – one better suited to meet the challenges of a globalizing world in the 21st century.

Table of Contents »

Buy this book from any of these reputable vendors:

Read This Book on Google Books »

Reviews

“The European Dream should be required reading on both sides of the Atlantic. To Americans it sounds the alarm. At the height of the supposed unipolar dominance of the US, fewer and fewer foreigners view it as an attractive model for constitutions, companies, communities.” — Andrew Moravcsik, The Financial Times “Rifkin’s book is deeply thought-provoking and optimistic about the future state of the world we live in-something we rarely read or hear these days … At a time when many Americans are feeling increasingly isolated, Rifkin carves out a provocative window for self-reflection and appraisal.” — Negar Akhavi, San Francisco Chronicle “Rifkin makes a compelling case for [the European] vision, which he says is usurping the American Dream as a global ideal … a fascinating study of the differences between the American and European psyches.” — Pete Engardio, Business Week “Occasionally, in history, an outside observer is best able to define the spirit of a people. In 1831, the French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited a young America and wrote Democracy in America. De Tocqueville helped Americans understand the American Dream and its importance for the world. Now, an American observer, Jeremy Rifkin, has written a book about the new European Dream which captures the very essence of the great experiment unfolding in Europe and its importance for a globalizing society. Rifkin’s book mirrors the European soul, providing us a clear reflection of who we are, and what we stand for and aspire to in the new Europe. The European Dream is a thoughtful and inspiring work.” — Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission “The real subject of the book [The European Dream] is the need for a new global ethic. Rifkin both makes the case for why we must change and offers detailed suggestions on how we should change. It is an impressive achievement. Rifkin has written an important book.” — Thomas Axworthy, Globe and Mail

Translations

The European Dream Italian MONDADORI Dutch BUSINESS CONTACT German CAMPUS VERLAG Chinese CHONGQING PUBLISHING HOUSE Romanian EDITURA POLIROMO Estonian FONTES Danish INFORMATIONSFORLAG Turkish ISTANBUL BILGI UNIVERSITESI YAYINLARI French LIBRARIE ARTHEME FAYARD Greek LIVANIS Portuguese M BOOKS Polish MEDIA LAZAR Korean MINUMSA Japanese NHK Spanish PAIDOS British POLITY PRESS Bulgarian PROZORETZ Croatian SKOLSKA KNIJGA Czech THE EUROPEAN LITERARY CLUB