That’s my verdict on Ezra Klein’s and Derek Thompson’s latest book, which is part of a larger “abundance liberalism” movement that some on the left are trying to get off the ground. They have won some praise for rejecting the “degrowth” agenda, but as I say in my review of the book for Law & Liberty, I expect more from policy writers than merely being against poverty.
Klein and Thompson still don’t appreciate individualism and therefore don’t understand markets:
“We” is the main character of Abundance. Klein and Thompson must use the word hundreds of times in the book, as it often appears multiple times per page. By the end of a book, the reader should be able to confidently say who the main character is, but I have no such confidence. The end result is that the book isn’t about anyone, so it isn’t telling anyone to do anything.
I conclude:
What is supposed to be a fresh take on policy issues winds up simply being an answer to one of the oldest questions in politics: How do we (the good guys) get them (the bad guys) out of the way so that we (the good guys) can do good things? Their answer to those who disagree: Lie back and think of abundance.
Read the whole thing here.