The Way We'll Be

The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream

By: John Zogby

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In this far-reaching examination of contemporary American culture, John Zogby, one of the nation's foremost pollsters, explores who today's Americans are, identifying patterns in our social makeup that hint at the way we'll be. Companies from multinational corporations down to family-owned small businesses can benefit from this detailed information about where we are and where we're going.

Zogby gets to the bottom of this topic by doing what he does best: conducting and analyzing surveys. The conclusions outlined in The Way We'll Be are drawn from literally thousands of polls posed to the broadest possible cross-section of Americans since the 1960s.

However, Zogby's complex research techniques are nowhere near as astounding as his conclusions: that the American Dream is in great transition and that a new American consensus is building. According to Zogby, four meta-movements are redefining what we want, what we expect of our leaders, and what we hope for:

We are learning to live with limits on everything - from the resources we consume to the exercise of national power abroad.

Led by the youngest adults, we are embracing diversity and redefining ourselves not by nationality but as world citizens.

Simultaneously, more and more of us are rejecting materialism and looking inward for guidance and sustenance.

We are demanding authenticity - in politicians, products, and our daily encounters - like never before.

These are the plate tectonics of American society today, and they define us as much as opening the frontier defined early American settlers. They shape our national character.

Zogby concludes his discussion of each movement with a list of "rules" for businesses looking to sell everything from automobiles to political candidates.

©2008 Zogby International (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"His intriguing claims will likely stimulate hope and continued debate." (Publishers Weekly)

The Way We Won't

Very disappointing. Zogby never goes beyond all his data to draw the insightful connections or provide the penetrating analysis that I was looking for. Yes, his central theme that American's are now living within an age of limits is a strong observation (and backed up with data) - but I was left wondering what are the larger forces that have caused this shift. Mark Penn's book Microtrends is a much better book - as by slicing the world in smaller segments he is able to tell a deeper and more satisfying story.