Towards a European Dream? Visions for the New Century
Patrick Mello
Jeremy Rifkin"s The European Dream (2004) makes the case for a European equivalent to the traditional American Dream. He argues that the latter has turned into a "daydream" and that today Americans are a "chosen people without a narrative" (56). For Rifkin, the future seems to lie in the European way of life. European Dream traces the development of the American Dream and its current decline as the author perceives it. Against this backdrop Rifkin develops a "grand narrative", or founding myth, for the new Europe that is about to take shape.
There are numerous books on the subject of European integration and the transatlantic relationship between the United States and the member states of the European Union. However, Rifkin"s thesis distinguishes itself on the grounds that he puts forth a comprehensive and ambitious work that goes far beyond economic issues. His narration provides a unique view of the "making of the modern age" as the author calls it.
At the core of this essay shall stand an analysis and contextualization of Rifkin"s European Dream. In order to provide a broader perspective, I will then look at Glyn Morgan"s The Idea of a European Superstate (2005) and Mark Leonard"s Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century (2005).
Glyn Morgan concentrates on the question of a justification for further European integration. While Jeremy Rifkin applies a historical philosophical approach, Morgan is a political theorist and deals with the subject in a pragmatic, rationalistic way. Mark Leonard"s book is similar to Rifkin"s but written from the perspective of a European, while the other two authors are citizens of the United States. Together they should add up to a more comprehensive and multi-faceted view of the topic.
In order to provide a historical framework for European Dream and the other two works I will begin with a concise chapter on political theory following the end of the Cold War in 1989. Throughout the essay it will become apparent that the evaluation of history and future visions are closely linked to and dependent on one"s world view and cultural background. This subject will be debated in chapter six.
