The American dream depends upon the idea that every American who works hard can support a family and get ahead. This book presents a measure of ideal against reality, calculating how much opportunity is available relative to the number of households reliant on it. This measure reveals that nearly a quarter of American families cannot find adequate work despite economic growth. Joh Schwartz demonstrates that neither global competition nor governmental interference are the culprits and he shows that the American dream might become reality.

Money, jobs, careers, training-all are topics often overheard in the conversation of middle-class Americans. One of the nation's leading critics of education, the world of work, and the labor movement, Stanley Aronowitz shows how new technologies, labor, and education all are deeply intertwined in our culture and everyday lives. This book reflects Aronowitz's thinking at a time when globalization has brought these connections to broad public attention. Aronowitz argues for the decline of "the job" as the backbone, along with family, of American society. Despite high employment, low wages and job insecurity leave many families at or below the poverty line. The career instability previously experienced mostly by blue-collar workers has spread to middle managers and high-level executives caught in the rapid movement of capital and technologies. In light of these facts, Aronowitz argues for a new social contract between employers and workers.