The Good Life and its Discontents

by Robert J. Samuelson

Why is it that Americans, who by most objective standards have never had it so good, (longer lives, easier jobs, more money, more personal fulfillment, less discrimination) think the nation is going to hell in a handbasket? Wealthier and freer than ever before, Americans focus on crime, family breakdown, and the depressed economy. Newsweek and Washington Post writer Robert J. Samuelson looks at history, sociology, the media, and political promises as he studies this strange paradox. Americans, he theorizes, became overconfident following World War victories and strong economic growth periods. An "Age of Entitlement" developed in which Americans believe the government, big business, the world, owes them...jobs, money, health care, security. A fascinating analysis of the modern American psyche, The Good Life and Its Discontents offers some ideas for change. Read it and decide if the "American Dream" has become the "American Fantasy."

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Sociology

293 pages, Hardcover

First published December 26, 1995

Reviews

[Mark Tatge]

Excellent book that looks at why Americans feel entitled to so much even after having achieved one of the highest living standards in the world.

[Steven W Oatway]

I am on page 69 and find this superbly written book difficult to put down. It is explaining how we came to have these enormous problems over the last 77 years by using facts not conjecture so is very believable. I will save a full review for when I am finished but believe this book should be required reading in North American High Schools. I doubt that will happen because then our leaders from all aspects of our societies will not have an obvious villain to focus on to be able to continue to fragment us into squabbling children with no power or energy left to fix what desperately needs to be fixed.

[Liquidlasagna]

Preface

Introduction

I The Entitlement Society
The Postwar Paradox
History's Chasm
The Cult of Affluence
Prosperity's Broken Promise

II The New Capitalism
The Apostles of Control
Cheery Economics
The Myth of Management
The Real Economy

III The Politics of Overpromise
Colliding Ideals
Borrow and Spend
Elusive Equality
Suicidal Government

Epilogue

History's Cycles
Responsibility, Not Entitlement
Crisis or Consensus?

[Lisa]

This book was interesting and a relatively easy read. Its basic premise is that over the past century, Americans in general have developed a sense of entitlement. This sense of entitlement extends far beyond the common understanding of entitlement (e.g. government programs such as social security) and is rooted in the political and economic theories that dominated and shaped the course of political events from the 50s forward and ultimately led Americans in general, to have greater expectations for economic security than government could realistically provide. A great read as a back drop for the coming debate on how to re-envision Americans' relationship and expectations of government.