The European Dream (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "MY FATHER, Milton, was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1908..." (more)
Key Phrases: transborder peace parks, transborder parks, private property regime, European Union, United States, American Dream (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Why are so few Americans paying attention to the dramatic changes taking place across the Atlantic, Rifkin (The End of Work) asks in his provocative and well-argued manifesto for the new European Union. Famously, Americans "live to work" while Europeans "work to live," and Rifkin demonstrates statistically and anecdotally that Europe's humane approach to capitalism makes for a healthier, better-educated populace. The U.S. lags behind in its unimaginative approach to working hours, productivity and technology, Rifkin claims, while Europe is leading the way into a new era while competing well in terms of productivity. Rifkin traces the cultural roots of what he says is America's lack of vision to its emphasis on individual autonomy and the accumulation of wealth; Europe's dream is more rooted in connectedness and quality of life. Americans may be risk takers, but Rifkin is more admiring of risk-sensitive European realism, as well as its secularism and social democracy. Exploring the history behind the two continents' wildly differing sensibilities, Rifkin examines the myth of the U.S. as "land of opportunity" and the two continents' contrasting attitudes to foreign policy, peace keeping and foreign aid. Rifkin's claims are not new, but he writes with striking clarity, combining the insights of contemporary sociologists and economists with up-to-the minute data and powerfully apt journalistic observations. While he may appear to idealize Europe's new direction, Rifkin's comparative study is scrupulously thorough and informative, and his rigor will please all readers interested in the future of world affairs.
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From Booklist

The American Dream is not dead, says Rifkin, but it's showing its years. Contrasting definitively American fantasies of individual autonomy, material wealth, and cultural assimilation with an emerging European vision of community relationships, quality of life, and cultural diversity, Rifkin argues that the great bloodshed of the twentieth century liberated Europeans from their past, better preparing them for global citizenship in the twenty-first century. Rifkin paints this contrast with grandiose, if sometimes messy, strokes, blending an intellectual history of the Enlightenment into an informed discussion of modern European political infrastructure. Rifkin is an American who has spent much of his life doing business in Europe, and his reasoned arguments are likewise often accompanied by personal anecdotes; it's clear on which continent his heart lies. But those who would dismiss Rifkin's polemics as rewarmed socialism miss the author's core argument. It is not a clash-of-civilizations diatribe but rather an appeal to Europeans to back their emergent vision with (American) courage and to Americans to temper their intemperate optimism with (European) moral perspective. The point is conversation, not competition. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (August 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585423459
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423453
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #341,551 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is there a European Dream?, August 23, 2004

By	Stuart Gardner "www.sdgardner.com" (Fair Lawn, NJ) - See all my reviews

This is a well written, comprehensively researched and thought provoking book that attempts to define a developing "European Dream". A parallel argument is also made that the " American Dream" has run its course. A good case is made for suggesting the American work ethic and optimism for the future is being replaced by a society where luck is more important than hard work and a pesimistic outlook is starting to prevail.

Riffkin accuratley describes key and fundamental differences that do exist between the USA and Europe. He suggests the US is more religous, less concerned about environment and measures sucess by wealth. Europeans are more interested in quality of life and are increasingly matching or surpassing the productivity of the US worker (my summary does not do justice to his text).

Where I do think Rifkins work becomes prophecy is the concept of a European dream. I am English, and I do recognise the UK isn't the most pro european of member states. However, the concept of a United States of Europe with a shared dream appears far off, and getting further away with the inclusion of so many new eastern european states (having got shot of the USSR they are only now enjoying a renewed sense of national identity). There isn't even agreement within the UK for a common dream (between the Scots, Welsh, English and not forgetting the folks in Northern Ireland).

This is a fascinating book with numerous interesting predictions. Only time will tell.

113 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Reading, October 1, 2004

By	Erin Campbell (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rifkin provides a sorely needed counter-perspective to the current American assumption of the universalism of its values. By tracing the transplanting of Enlightenment ideas to the undeveloped New World, Rifkin shows how the American character of staunch individualism and unfettered expansionism were created. While these qualities have made America a superpower, Rifkin calls to question their efficacy in the new era of globalization where sustainability and collective action may prove more important. Rifkin outlines how Europe is conducting its own experiment in creating a system of cooperation among disperate partners which may prove more compatible with the emerging new world order. Currently, many European countries score very high in quality of life measurements, while the United States lags behind most of the industrially developed nations in many critical areas, like access to health care. By accepting lower levels of materialism, Europeans have more "quality time" for people and activities important to them. Rifkin does point out the potential pitfalls of this European experiment (e.g., tough enough in a hostile world?). Still, examining another system -- which is successful in different ways than America -- provides an opportunity to reflect on how American values may or may not mesh with the rest of the world.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A European comment, October 20, 2006

By	Marina - See all my reviews

This review is from: The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream (Hardcover)

As European, a very proud one, I can only agree to Mr. Rifkin's analytical view of my continent. I have been living in the US for 5 years now, and it still struck how little you folks enjoy life. We have one life only, and you spend the msot of it, running, working, exercesing, and with fake ideal of eternal beauty whereas we might not look superpowerful as you, but we do like to live I strongly recommend this book to people who want to open their eyes to a reality beyond their borders there is a whole world beyond your boundaries and Mr. Rifkin's book will show you.