Abundance

De: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson

Narrado por: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“A terrific book...Powerful and persuasive.” —Fareed Zakaria

“Spectacular…Offers a comprehensive indictment of the current problems and a clear path forward…Klein and Thompson usher in a mood shift. They inspire hope and enlarge the imagination.” —David Brooks, The New York Times

“A raging political fad has taken over the Democratic Party….The Abundance movement cuts across the party’s ideological fissures….Democratic politicians are rushing to embrace the new mantra.” —The Wall Street Journal

From bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.

To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough.

Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next gener­ation’s problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished.

Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and pre­serves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.

©2024 Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Hard AND healing truths for my wounded liberal soul. Onward to Abundance!

This. Is. So. Good.

Hard AND healing truths that gave me a new frame of reference to think about what is happening in the current moment.

I learned a tremendous amount about what was previously very puzzling and unclear to me. Namely, why “liberal” prosperous places that were putting major money toward the “right” projects aimed at improving inequalities in housing, healthcare, mass transportation and schooling were failing to make positive changes despite huge amounts of money being spent.

This book scratched an itch that was calling to me from the depths of my mind. Having been quite struck by an episode of the Hidden Brain podcast on the neuroscience of scarcity complex many years ago I’d been watching myself and others make poor decisions when we felt scarcities grip (it’s proven neuroscience - check out the episode if your curious). I could apply the learnings from this fascinating science for myself but couldn’t overlay it on what was happening in US (and world) politics very well until now. This book was the key to connecting those dots.

I now have clarity about what we need to do, and how we might frame the work, in order to best support the health and vitality of both the US and the world (and address climate change urgently).

Thank you Ezra and Darrick for your clear eyed vision!

Onward to Abundance!

Provocative

Do I agree with every word? Of course not. Do Klein and Thompson address every concern? Nope.

But is it provocative correction for a movement that has been roundly rejected? Yes. The most inspiring book I have read in a long time. I left my listen hopeful.

Also, two professional podcasters makes the listen quite nice.

Excellent

One of best explanation of what is happening at these times. Both political factions are to be at blame. Unfortunately the republicans seem to want to compromise. Our democracy is at the crossroads.

Important

An important read for modern times. Tuned into the zeitgeist and is a must for those wanting a better tomorrow.

Interesting

Interesting and informative for the people who are interested in today’s world and how we got here

A wonderful summation of what matters in politics!

Loved this book for its relevance in today’s divided US. We all need to read books like this to better understand our situation and help us rise above it.

History of regulation

This was a fantastic book. I particularly appreciated the exploration of the historical origins of many regulations, and how those once-necessary rules may now be doing more harm than good. The book provides compelling examples of how, in times of emergency, suspending bureaucratic red tape can lead to faster, more effective results. It also raises an important point about how tools originally designed to ensure transparency and accountability in government projects are increasingly being used to obstruct progress—ultimately undermining public confidence in the government's ability to solve major problems.

Clear-eyed critique of Liberal Over-regulation

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s Abundance is a timely, energizing call for America to move beyond a politics of scarcity and embrace a future where we build more—housing, clean energy, and innovation.
The book’s most compelling strength is its clear-eyed critique of how well-intentioned liberal overregulation has become a barrier to progress. Klein and Thompson appropriately call out the thicket of rules and procedural hurdles—especially in housing, infrastructure, and energy—that were originally designed to protect but now stifle growth, innovation, and opportunity.
By highlighting how excessive regulation and “everything-bagel liberalism” can make projects collapse under their own weight, the authors make a persuasive case for smarter, more focused governance that enables abundance while still protecting the public good. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the future of progress and policy.

Thus is our path forward

it was refreshing to hear some hard truths about the Democrats and how environmentalist, however righteous, have over-reached a bit. the author shows us a path to to get the most possibme good out of the new political order.

Abundance or Scarcity; Democracy or Autocracy

A constitutional society will not remain a democracy for long if the people believe the Government is a problem. In the quest for a safer and fairer housing and infrastructure development process, Liberal states have planted the seed of resentment for the masses to lose faith in democracy for autocracy. An Abundance Economy is the cure. We need fewer red tape and more ribbon cuttings at new buildings, bridges, and byways. We need a more robust government with the expertise and the efficiency to build again. We did it with FDR, we can do it again with the next Democratic President.