The Permanent Problem

In The Permanent Problem, Brink Lindsey reshapes our understanding of the vital but complex relationship between material prosperity and human flourishing. The advanced capitalist democracies of the 21st century are the richest, freest, healthiest, best educated, and best governed societies in history. Why then does it seem like everything is falling apart? Economic stagnation is spreading, class divisions are deepening, birth rates are collapsing, mental health problems are on the rise, faith in democracy is in decline, and pessimism about the future abounds.In The Permanent Problem, Brink Lindsey argues that these gathering difficulties reflect the stresses and strains of a great and uncompleted historical transition-from mass material prosperity to mass human flourishing. Capitalism's immense productive powers have raised our expectations of what life can be, but for most of us reality is coming up short. What's more, the arrival of mass prosperity has pushed both economic and cultural change in directions that make the transition to mass flourishing much harder to achieve.According to Lindsey, 21st century capitalism is in the grip of three interrelated crises: a crisis of inclusion, as vital social ties and personal connections are breaking down; a crisis of dynamism, as capitalism's engines of innovation and wealth creation have begun to sputter and seize; and a crisis of politics, as the mechanisms for collective decision-making needed to address capitalism's growing problems have been degraded by the very same dynamics that underlie those problems.A much brighter future is possible, and Lindsey charts an intriguing path to get there. There is no need to concoct a radical new social system. Instead, capitalism needs to be refocused on its core mission of extending the technological frontier, and rebalanced through the revitalization of face-to-face communities. Weaving together insights from history, economics, sociology, and philosophy, The Permanent Problem offers a synoptic overview of our fateful present moment and a provocative glimpse at what may lie ahead.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: "A General Nervous Breakdown" Chapter 2: The New Class Divide Chapter 3: Into the Acid Bath Chapter 4: Lulled by Loss Aversion Chapter 5: The Global Fertility Collapse Chapter 6: The Performative Turn Chapter 7: Declining Returns to Complexity Chapter 8: The Promise of Abundance: Capitalism Refocused Chapter 9: Abundance at Human Scale: Capitalism Rebalanced Chapter 10: What Are Humans For? Notes Index

About the Author :
Brink Lindsey is a senior vice president with the Niskanen Center, named "the most interesting think tank in American politics" by Time Magazine. His previous books include (with Steven M. Teles) The Captured Economy (Oxford, 2017), Human Capitalism (2013), and The Age of Abundance (2007).

Review :
In this thought-provoking book, Brink Lindsey deepens the intellectual conversation about abundance. Examining the 'crisis of dynamism' that stifles growth and the 'crisis of inclusion' that limits its beneficiaries, he makes a compelling case that much greater, more widespread abundance is both possible and essential. But human flourishing, he argues, depends crucially on how we navigate the path to that better future. Whatever you think of his proposed cures, Lindsey's diagnosis demands attention. This book has a gloomy title and a lot of gloomy content. Amazingly enough, though, it left me feeling hopeful and optimistic. Brink Lindsey makes a resounding case that we have everything we need to solve our problems-deep as they are-and that doing so doesn't require either economic totalitarianism or anarchy. Read The Permanent Problem, and you'll come away both informed and energized. Why has unparalleled material and technological progress led to global disappointment instead of mass flourishing? Combining a sweeping command of history with rich insight into our societies and souls, one of today's most original and uncategorizable thinkers offers an arresting answer: without repudiating capitalism, we must redirect it from consumption to connection. In The Permanent Problem, Brink Lindsey charts the path toward a new economy-one based on 'abundance at human scale.' Humanity today is far wealthier than it has ever been before. Thus, economics needs to shift to a new terrain-from 'how to produce more' to 'how to utilize our resources and skills to live wisely and well.' And here Brink Lindsey is the best pathfinder I know.