I have one piece of art in the book, which I love. My thanks to artist Roberto Parada for allowing me to include it. The illustration appeared in the Wall Street Journal, accompanying the essay “The American Dream is Alive and Well.”

Americans’ beliefs about economic inequality and opportunity in the U.S. are closely linked to their social welfare and other economic policy preferences even controlling for partisanship. In fact, Republicans who believe the economy is rigged are nearly as economically progressive as Democrats.

Debating the American Dream helps us to understand why many Americans disagree vehemently over policy while genuinely believing they have people's best interests in mind.

Members of the public follow suit, sorting into "American Dream believers" and "American Dream skeptics" not so much because of income, race, or sex but, rather, due to party allegiance.

With decades of party platform & survey data, I explore how Americans' beliefs about the causes of socioeconomic inequality relate to party politics. To justify party agendas, Republican leaders claim the American Dream is alive & well. Democratic leaders argue structural barriers hold people back.