Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream - Tapa blanda

"[The Complacent Class] provides an open invitation for the reader to think deeply." --Derek Thompson, The Atlantic "'The Complacent Class' is refreshingly nonideological, filled with observations that will resonate with conservatives, liberals and libertarians. ... a useful corrective to the conventional wisdom that American ingenuity, sooner or later, will revive a low-growth economy." --The Wall Street Journal "One of the most important reads of the new year." --National Review "Tyler Cowen's blog, Marginal Revolution, is the first thing I read every morning. And his brilliant new book, The Complacent Class, has been on my nightstand after I devoured it in one sitting. I am at round-the-clock Cowen saturation right now."--Malcolm Gladwell "Tyler Cowen is an international treasure. Endlessly inventive and uniquely wide-ranging, he has produced a novel account of what ails us: undue complacency. No one but Cowen would ask, 'Why Americans stopped rioting and instead legalized marijuana.' He admires risk-taking, and he likes restlessness, and he thinks the United States needs lots more of both. Don't be complacent: Read this book!"--Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University, and author of #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media "A book that will undoubtedly stir discussion"--Kirkus Praise for The Great Stagnation: "Cowen's book... will have a profound impact on the way people think about the last thirty years."--Ryan Avent, Economist.com "Tyler Cowen may very well turn out to be this decade's Thomas Friedman."--Kelly Evans, The Wall Street Journal

The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist and bestselling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition. Working harder than ever to avoid change, seeking more security and more safety. Moving homes less, making children play inside more, choosing their music and friends on algorithms that wall us off from anything that might be too new or too different. While this might feel rational and be good individually, it spells trouble collectively. According to Cowen, there are significant collateral downsides attending this comfort, among them heightened inequality and segregation and decreased incentives to innovate and create. The Complacent Class argues that this cannot go on forever. Postponing change, due to near-sightedness and extreme desire for comfort, but ultimately this will make change, when it comes, harder. The forces unleashed by the Great Stagnation will eventually lead to a major fiscal and budgetary crisis, impossibly expensive rentals for the most attractive cities, worsening of residential segregation and a decline in our work ethic. The only way to avoid this difficult future is for Americans to force themselves out of their comfortable slumber - to embrace their restless tradition again.