It was James Breslow Adams who popularized the phrase “American dream” in his 1931 book Epic of America, defining it as “a dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Considering how pliable and sweeping this idea is, it’s not surprising that the term has become a political platitude used to bolster every crackpot idea floating in the ether of American discourse.
Which brings me to progressive favorites Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio, who recently wrote a Washington Post op-ed detailing exactly how they plan to revive the American dream. There they offered a host of ideas and said, “Rebuilding our middle class won’t be easy, but real change rarely is. It’s time to be bold.”
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