About American Dreaming
American Dreaming is a place to think in public about a specific breakdown that many Americans feel but struggle to name.
For decades, there was an implicit deal—not for everyone, and never evenly enforced, but for most people—that if you worked hard, followed the rules, and acted responsibly, effort would convert—imperfectly but reliably—into opportunity and stability. That conversion no longer works the way we pretend it does.
This publication examines what happens when systems stop honoring that bargain. It looks at the economic, civic, and institutional structures we inherited, how they changed over time, and why responsibility increasingly fails to produce the outcomes it once promised.
This is not a newsletter optimized for speed, certainty, or outrage. It does not offer quick fixes, partisan alignment, or motivational reassurance. Many posts are provisional. Some are unfinished. Disagreement is expected.
Conversation matters here because these problems are not well understood yet. If something feels incomplete, wrong, or worth extending, engagement is part of the work—not a reaction to it.
Read selectively. Take your time. Respond when you have something to add.
