Capitalism Redefined
What prosperity is, where growth comes from, why markets work—and how we resolve the tension between a prosperous world and a moral one.
Nick Hanauer & Eric Beinhocker

For everyone but the top 1 percent of earners, the American economy is broken. Since the 1980s, there has been a widening disconnect between the lives lived by ordinary Americans and the statistics that say our prosperity is growing. Despite the setback of the Great Recession, the U.S. economy more than doubled in size during the last three decades while middle-class incomes and buying power have stagnated. Great fortunes were made while many baby boomers lost their retirement savings. Corporate profits reached record highs while social mobility reached record lows, lagging behind other developed countries. For too many families, the American Dream is becoming more a historical memory than an achievable reality.

These facts don’t just highlight the issues of inequality and the growing power of a plutocracy. They should also force us to ask a deeper set of questions about how our economy works—and, crucially, about how we assess and measure the very idea of economic progress.

GT2211 wrote:http://www.democracyjournal.org/30/capitalism-redefined.php?page=all

Capitalism Redefined
What prosperity is, where growth comes from, why markets work—and how we resolve the tension between a prosperous world and a moral one.
Nick Hanauer & Eric Beinhocker

For everyone but the top 1 percent of earners, the American economy is broken. Since the 1980s, there has been a widening disconnect between the lives lived by ordinary Americans and the statistics that say our prosperity is growing. Despite the setback of the Great Recession, the U.S. economy more than doubled in size during the last three decades while middle-class incomes and buying power have stagnated. Great fortunes were made while many baby boomers lost their retirement savings. Corporate profits reached record highs while social mobility reached record lows, lagging behind other developed countries. For too many families, the American Dream is becoming more a historical memory than an achievable reality.

These facts don’t just highlight the issues of inequality and the growing power of a plutocracy. They should also force us to ask a deeper set of questions about how our economy works—and, crucially, about how we assess and measure the very idea of economic progress.

Since capitalism/inequality/growth get discussed endlessly here. I thought this would make a good addition for those who care to read about the subject(which may just be me!) but be warned it is not a short read.

home_ wrote:I'll be disappointed if it doesn't mention environmental problems. Even if we manage global warming (not likely) we'll just hit another monstrous environmental problem if we continue to treat environment as if god has given it to us for unlimited exploitation. It doesn't work that way, we'll have to live sustainably. It's a big cunundrum we've got ourselves into.

Ok I'll go reading it first and see then.