Dreams of a Lifetime: How Who We Are Shapes How We Imagine Our Future

How social status shapes our dreams of the future and inhibits the lives we envision for ourselves

Most of us understand that a person’s place in society can close doors to opportunity, but we also tend to think that anything is possible when someone dreams about what might be. Dreams of a Lifetime reveals that what and how we dream—and whether we believe our dreams can actually come true—are tied to our social class, gender, race, age, and life events.

Karen Cerulo and Janet Ruane argue that...