The Legacy the U.S. Leaves the World: McDonaldization or Democracy? 'The Pursuit of Happiness Is Closely Linked to the American Dream'

As the United States nears its 250th anniversary of independence, the enduring ideal of the "American Dream" remains a powerful force, inspiring both admiration and critical debate globally. This ideal, intertwined with the pursuit of happiness and the promise of liberty, forms a cornerstone of American identity and its democratic legacy.

Historians and analysts often point to the inherent contradictions within the U.S. While for many, America represents a land of freedom, opportunity, and democracy, others view it as a deeply polarized society where foundational ideals are challenged by ongoing political, social, and cultural conflicts. The nation's cultural and political influence, from literature and film to universities and corporations, has shaped generations and redefined global understandings of democracy, freedom, technology, success, and happiness.

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For Europeans who watched with admiration and hope the formation of the new American nation, which seemed to put into practice universal principles regarding the inalienable rights of man – for example, freedom, equality, citizens' rights and their relationship with elected representatives – the USA promised a new stage in the history of the Western world.

Roxana Oltean, a professor at the University of Bucharest specializing in American Literature and Culture, delves into these complexities. She examines the enduring appeal of American culture and civilization in the West and questions what remains of the "American Dream" myth and the societal promise of transforming immigrants into a unified nation. Oltean also reflects on America's diminishing role as a cultural and political benchmark and considers how new generations in Romania perceive Americans, contrasting it with their grandparents' view of the U.S. as a liberator from communism.

Oltean notes that for early European observers, the nascent American nation, with its emphasis on universal principles like liberty and the rights of citizens, represented a new stage in Western history. Foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were seen not just as national charters but as expressions of universal ideals.

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The founding documents of the new nation – the Declaration of Independence (1776), the American Constitution (1787), and the Bill of Rights (1791) – represented, as has been noted countless times, not just principles regarding rights and freedoms for a specific nation, but universal principles, announced through the famous...