Abundance
TLDR: “Well-written, very interesting thesis”
This book was written by two Left-ish authors: one is a columnist for the New York Times and the other is a columnist for The Atlantic. The hook is that this book calls out the Left for a lot of problems in today’s society.
Their central claim is that a lot of societal problems are driven on the supply side: we don’t have enough housing, we don’t have enough medical breakthroughs, we don’t have enough green energy, etc. They make the argument that the Left has stymied attempts to expand our access to these things through too much regulation and other roadblocks.
They paint a picture that society is gridlocked. We need more housing, more invention, more innovation, more energy, but we’re stuck arguing about how to get it. Whenever someone comes up with a plan, everyone piles on in attempts to discredit it or attach their pet project to it.
They argue for the government to be used as a battering ram to push projects through. Ironically, given their political orientation, they point to Trump’s Project Warp Speed effort to get a COVID vaccine out the door as an example of how things should work.
It’s a fresh take on politics, which I enjoyed. Instead of pushing the same hackneyed arguments, they take a new view of it. It’s well-written and always interesting. I’m planning to read it again.
Reread
Added on
I listened to the audiobook of this on a long roadtrip to Colorado and back. Here are some random points that jumped out at me the second time through.
Over-regulation is death by a thousand cuts. Lots of regulations get added for good intentions, in and of themselves, but when combined with other regulations, the entire effect is overbearing.
Lots of organizations try to piggyback good, worthwhile goals onto projects. There are rules to favor minority-owned businesses and small businesses and increase disabled access, etc. The problem is that so many goals are attached to each project, that they often prevent the project from happening at all, which means no one gets their goals met.
One of the myths of innovation is that discovery is enough. In truth, you have to have a good idea and the ability to deploy it. And in many cases, the government is the only entity large enough to help deploy something.
Government financing can be “push” (here’s money to do this thing) or “pull” (here’s a bonus if you get that thing done). We can employ both to encourage private enterprise to take risks they otherwise wouldn’t take.
Operation Warp Speed – the COVID vaccine program – was a great example of the government helping and prodding private enterprise to do something. Weirdly, however, it’s been abandoned by both parties. The Right is anti-vax, and the Left doesn’t want to praise Trump in any way. So this great example of the success of government inventive and reward has been orphaned.
A lot of the problems in the world right now are scarcity problems. If we have enough of something, there are less problems. We simply need to be free to do more stuff.
A great phrase: “Don’t defend something just because your opponent attacks it.” Just because the Right attacks over-regulation doesn’t mean the Left needs to defend it.
Book Data
- Author
- Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
- Year
- Pages
- 222
- Acquired
- Not recorded
- Open Library
- OL42415680W
- Wikipedia
- Abundance_(Klein_and_Thompson_book)
- I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
- A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.