American Dreams

A car retailer in Michigan

James Naughtie crosses the US to Michigan, Houston, Kansas and Washington DC to assess the extent to which belief in the American dream has been damaged by a failing economy, a continuing racial divide, the Iraq war and its own democratic process.

With 54 percent of Americans believing they will never achieve the American dream, the US feels threatened.

Confidence among Americans in ever-increasing prosperity has sagged; the unfinished history of racial tension and anger about immigration are troubling them; terrorism and war have produced schism and fear; more Americans than ever are asking whether their democracy still works.

The rhetoric of The Dream is still used as the storyline of politics, but belief in its staying-power has been shaken.

That feeling is disturbing thoughtful people in politics, the universities, and business and getting a grip on voters.

There is a shared sense across the political divide that the country has reached a crossroads.

Contributors to the series includes Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz, former Senate majority leader Trent Lott, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine Steve Forbes, author and editor of Newsweek International Fareed Zakaria, foreign policy analyst Robert Kagan, and conservative talk radio presenter with close ties to the Bush White House Laura Ingraham.

Programme One sees the series begin in Michigan, a rust belt state with a collapsing automotive industry and an economy in decline.