The Good Life and its Discontents - Hardcover

Samuelson, Robert J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812925920 ISBN 13: 9780812925920

Publisher: Crown, 1995

Synopsis

One of the country's most influential commentators attempts to explain why the richest, most powerful, and most democratic nation in the world is overcome by self-doubt and confusion. Samuelson takes a penetrating look at why Americans feel so bad when they are really doing so well, and poses the crucial question: Can America's leaders restore confidence by curbing government that has promised more than it can deliver?

About this title

From the Inside Flap

ountry's most influential commentators attempts to explain why the richest, most powerful, and most democratic nation in the world is overcome by self-doubt and confusion. Samuelson takes a penetrating look at why Americans feel so bad when they are really doing so well, and poses the crucial question: Can America's leaders restore confidence by curbing government that has promised more than it can deliver?

Reviews

Samuelson, a syndicated columnist for Newsweek and the Washington Post, offers here a thoughtful exposition of a paradox: Americans feel pessimistic even as the country overall has prospered by most measures. His explanation is the concept of "entitlement," the American sensibility that "almost everyone deserves to succeed." And just as Americans have enjoyed the fruits of prosperity (consumer goods, etc.), they have accordingly demanded more of government. However, he warns, our economy cannot be managed as easily as some theorists say. Thus, "the politics of overpromise"?in which budget deficits, broadened "rights" such as equality and lobbyist gridlock?have led to bloated government. Samuelson's solution is a culture of greater responsibility. He suggests we raise the retirement age to crimp the costs of an aging America, and that all government benefits be "means tested" (limited by income). Otherwise, he cautions, we may not band together to fight pressing social problems involving race and poverty. Hearkening back to the early-20th-century progressive movement, Samuelson suggests that an interregnum, such as our era, is part of the cycle of history. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Columnist and economics commentator Samuelson (The Numbskull Factor, Times, 1993) asks why "a society that satisfies us most of the time has also convinced many of us that it's rolling inexorably toward the edge of a cliff." The reason for this "paradox," Samuelson argues, can be tied to the effect of "entitlements" on our lives; we believe we are guaranteed many things?healthcare, secure jobs, and safe living places?but the social and political realities of our lives contradict this. In determining what has turned the American Dream into a "fantasy," Samuelson refers to post-1929 American history, public opinion polls, economic theory and data, the beliefs of our Founding Fathers, corporate structure, and sociological research. He also discusses how civil rights and equality have become confused with each other and how American political leaders have created a huge budget deficit by separating costs from benefits. This is an unusually clear, cogently argued exploration of American values and the political institutions that have strayed from them. Essential for most libraries.?Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812925920
• ISBN 13: 9780812925920
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 293