Mateo's review
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Krugman
Mateo's review
The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman
Mateo's review
rating:
If you're an unreconstructed lefty like me, you'll enjoy Paul Krugman's unapologetically liberal--emphatically not radical--new book. If you're not, you may find the book contains some surprising facts, figures, and conclusions.
Krugman's thesis is that, against conventional wisdom, politics have driven economics, and not vice-versa, over the last 30 or so years of right-wing dominance, resulting in the profoundly unequal society we live in. He claims that before the Reagan Revolution (which had its roots in Goldwater movement conservatism), America was not only a much more egalitarian and fair place, it was--McCarthyism notwithstanding--a more politically tolerant and consensus-driven place, as well. In the '50s and '60s, there was general agreement by both Republicans and Democrats in the broad outlines of a socially engaged government: high taxes on the rich, a good social safety net, and modest progress on civil rights. And this came crashing down with the rise of the neo...more
Krugman's thesis is that, against conventional wisdom, politics have driven economics, and not vice-versa, over the last 30 or so years of right-wing dominance, resulting in the profoundly unequal society we live in. He claims that before the Reagan Revolution (which had its roots in Goldwater movement conservatism), America was not only a much more egalitarian and fair place, it was--McCarthyism notwithstanding--a more politically tolerant and consensus-driven place, as well. In the '50s and '60s, there was general agreement by both Republicans and Democrats in the broad outlines of a socially engaged government: high taxes on the rich, a good social safety net, and modest progress on civil rights. And this came crashing down with the rise of the neo...more
