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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Important historical read on economic, politic Al policies impacting culture and communities. Lots for Americans to consider here if you are interested in social and economic justice.
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I respect Gen X's efforts to apologize. Really, I do. Among my parents' generation, there's an understanding that things are slowly getting worse, and that they are partially to blame, and so they're trying to tell us how to fix it.
In this book, Leonhardt attempts to explain why the American dream feels so distant, so farcical. He does believe in the American dream, don't get him wrong. He, you see, is a "democratic capitalist." It isn't the government, but the free market that will deliver us from poverty, though he acknowledges that there is a role for the government in regulating the economy.
Here, Leonhardt tips his hand. If he understands what socialism is – which he should, since he wrote an economics column at the New York Times for five years, and presumably has a smartphone with internet access – he doesn't let on in this book. He doesn't make any effort to argue in favor of the division of capital and labor, or against workers owning the means of production. In fact, he speaks fondly of unions, arguably the most socialist organizations America has to offer. Instead, he attacks the popular strawman of socialism, this vague notion that the economy should be run by the government.
Throughout the book, we get these excruciating vignettes of both popular political and movement leaders and some lesser-known figures in business and related areas. These are sometimes quite interesting, but they nevertheless lead to a feeling of directionlessness, like the author is just throwing stuff together. Leonhardt seems to have realized this at some point, because about halfway through they peter off completely. Smooshed in between these micro-biographies we get a story of a country that briefly cared about its citizens, largely thanks to unions and FDR. This isn't an inaccurate depiction; for a few decades the federal government was interested in helping its ((white) male) population.
But according to Leonhardt, this all changed when those dirty student protesters started agitating for things like an end to the Vietnam War and equal rights for Black people. The so-called New Left was too focused on social issues; if only they had left it to the good old boys who were in charge at the time, everything would have worked out in the end. Instead, they gave ammunition to the rising wave of anti-government intellectuals who paved the way for the Reagan administration.
In addition to being exceptionally smug, this depiction uses Beatniks and hippies as an obvious smokescreen. It's clear that while Leonhardt may have a point that young white protesters exhibited a great deal of audacity in their activism, this was happening at the same time as any number of social justice movements. The Civil Rights era doesn't get a whole lot of air time in this book. Leonhardt mentions prominent labor leaders like A. Philip Randolph and Cesar Chavez, their activism for racial justice is eclipsed by their labor leadership. If civil rights leaders like MLK, to say nothing of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers or of women's rights and LGBTQ+ activists, had anything to do with white heteronormative society's change of heart about notions of equality in the 60s and 70s, Leonhardt is silent on it.
But more importantly, he places the burden of the decline of the American dream squarely on the shoulders of those who fought the hardest to achieve it. I think this is most emblematic in his discussion of patriotism. Leonhardt does not take seriously the notion that life in America is not something to be proud of for some people. Instead, he focuses on how bad it is electorally: the average American loves America, therefore the only way to win elections is to wrap ourselves in American flags and smile through the pain. For the sake of remaining concise, I will not spend too much time pointing out how Democratic politicians typically go out of their way to embody American ideals, often to an absurd extent.
Instead, I'll just say this: Leonhardt has a serious addiction to political aestheticism. He's more concerned about what looks good than what does good. The imagery of reaching across the aisle, of civilized discussion, is more important to him than the results of those discussions. Student activists did not end the Vietnam War in his worldview; it was ended by Nixon (who by the way was *not* racist dog whistling by seeking the votes of disillusioned segregationist Democrats). The only way to accomplish anything in this country is to get your party elected to Congress, and the only way to do that is to acknowledge that sometimes your rights will be violated. You can't always get what you want.
To wrap things up, I hope that we stop believing the problem is those whiny protesters. The world will not be saved if people could just wait their turn for equality. Blue haired trans women are not the reason Joe Biden has a 38% approval rating. The more we entertain the notion that we just need to ask more nicely for things, the longer it's going to take for us to realize that that's never worked. What we need is to focus our efforts on radically altering the system that has led to record levels of wealth inequality juxtaposed with breakneck increases in poverty.
In this book, Leonhardt attempts to explain why the American dream feels so distant, so farcical. He does believe in the American dream, don't get him wrong. He, you see, is a "democratic capitalist." It isn't the government, but the free market that will deliver us from poverty, though he acknowledges that there is a role for the government in regulating the economy.
Here, Leonhardt tips his hand. If he understands what socialism is – which he should, since he wrote an economics column at the New York Times for five years, and presumably has a smartphone with internet access – he doesn't let on in this book. He doesn't make any effort to argue in favor of the division of capital and labor, or against workers owning the means of production. In fact, he speaks fondly of unions, arguably the most socialist organizations America has to offer. Instead, he attacks the popular strawman of socialism, this vague notion that the economy should be run by the government.
Throughout the book, we get these excruciating vignettes of both popular political and movement leaders and some lesser-known figures in business and related areas. These are sometimes quite interesting, but they nevertheless lead to a feeling of directionlessness, like the author is just throwing stuff together. Leonhardt seems to have realized this at some point, because about halfway through they peter off completely. Smooshed in between these micro-biographies we get a story of a country that briefly cared about its citizens, largely thanks to unions and FDR. This isn't an inaccurate depiction; for a few decades the federal government was interested in helping its ((white) male) population.
But according to Leonhardt, this all changed when those dirty student protesters started agitating for things like an end to the Vietnam War and equal rights for Black people. The so-called New Left was too focused on social issues; if only they had left it to the good old boys who were in charge at the time, everything would have worked out in the end. Instead, they gave ammunition to the rising wave of anti-government intellectuals who paved the way for the Reagan administration.
In addition to being exceptionally smug, this depiction uses Beatniks and hippies as an obvious smokescreen. It's clear that while Leonhardt may have a point that young white protesters exhibited a great deal of audacity in their activism, this was happening at the same time as any number of social justice movements. The Civil Rights era doesn't get a whole lot of air time in this book. Leonhardt mentions prominent labor leaders like A. Philip Randolph and Cesar Chavez, their activism for racial justice is eclipsed by their labor leadership. If civil rights leaders like MLK, to say nothing of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers or of women's rights and LGBTQ+ activists, had anything to do with white heteronormative society's change of heart about notions of equality in the 60s and 70s, Leonhardt is silent on it.
But more importantly, he places the burden of the decline of the American dream squarely on the shoulders of those who fought the hardest to achieve it. I think this is most emblematic in his discussion of patriotism. Leonhardt does not take seriously the notion that life in America is not something to be proud of for some people. Instead, he focuses on how bad it is electorally: the average American loves America, therefore the only way to win elections is to wrap ourselves in American flags and smile through the pain. For the sake of remaining concise, I will not spend too much time pointing out how Democratic politicians typically go out of their way to embody American ideals, often to an absurd extent.
Instead, I'll just say this: Leonhardt has a serious addiction to political aestheticism. He's more concerned about what looks good than what does good. The imagery of reaching across the aisle, of civilized discussion, is more important to him than the results of those discussions. Student activists did not end the Vietnam War in his worldview; it was ended by Nixon (who by the way was *not* racist dog whistling by seeking the votes of disillusioned segregationist Democrats). The only way to accomplish anything in this country is to get your party elected to Congress, and the only way to do that is to acknowledge that sometimes your rights will be violated. You can't always get what you want.
To wrap things up, I hope that we stop believing the problem is those whiny protesters. The world will not be saved if people could just wait their turn for equality. Blue haired trans women are not the reason Joe Biden has a 38% approval rating. The more we entertain the notion that we just need to ask more nicely for things, the longer it's going to take for us to realize that that's never worked. What we need is to focus our efforts on radically altering the system that has led to record levels of wealth inequality juxtaposed with breakneck increases in poverty.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective