The world has become increasingly separated into the haves and have-nots. In The Culture of Contentment, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith shows how a contented class--not the privileged few but the socially and economically advantaged majority--defend their comfortable status at a cost. Middle-class voting against regulation and increased taxation that would remedy pressing social ills has created a culture of immediate gratification, leading to complacency and hampering long-term progress. Only economic disaster, military action, or the eruption of an angry underclass seem capable of changing the status quo. A groundbreaking critique, The Culture of Contentment shows how the complacent majority captures the political process and determines economic policy.

The size of government is arguably the most controversial discussion in United States politics, and this issue won't fade from prominence any time soon. There must surely be a tipping point beyond which more government taxing and spending harms the economy, but where is that point? In this accessible book, best-selling authors Jeff Madrick, Jon Bakija, Lane Kenworthy, and Peter Lindert try to answer whether our government can grow any larger and examine how we can optimize growth and fair distribution.

Through anecdotes and narrative, economics journalist Madrick traces the business mergers and financial speculation that arose in the early 1970s, finishing his work with a look at the fall of Ivan Boesky in the mid-1980s. He focuses on the executives behind particular corporate deals, examining how

Political conservatives have long believed that the best government is a small government. But if this were true, noted economist Jeff Madrick argues, the nation would not be experiencing stagnant wages, rising health care costs, increasing unemployment, and concentrations of wealth for a narrow elite. In this perceptive and eye-opening book, Madrick proves that an engaged government--a big government of high taxes and wise regulations--is necessary for the social and economic answers that Americans desperately need in changing times. He shows that the big governments of past eras fostered greatness and prosperity, while weak, laissez-faire governments marked periods of corruption and exploitation. "The Case for Big Government" considers whether the government can adjust its current policies and set the country right.

Madrick explains why politics and economics should go hand in hand; why America benefits when the government actively nourishes economic growth; and why America must reject free market orthodoxy and adopt ambitious government-centered programs. He looks critically at today's politicians--at Republicans seeking to revive nineteenth-century principles, and at Democrats who are abandoning the pioneering efforts of the Great Society. Madrick paints a devastating portrait of the nation's declining social opportunities and how the economy has failed its workers. He looks critically at today's politicians and demonstrates that the government must correct itself to address these serious issues.

A practical call to arms, "The Case for Big Government" asks for innovation, experimentation, and a willingness to fail. The book sets aside ideology and proposes bold steps to ensure the nation's vitality.

The forces that shape economic growth: --The size of markets. Large markets make economies of scale possible and thus encourage saving, investing, and the development of new products.--The availability of information and the literacy of the population. The spread of information gives people access to scientific and technical ideas, products, and productive farming, manufacturing, and marketing techniques.--Natural resources. These seem like primary requirements but are not: they depend on markets for their commercial value.--Surplus capital--savings--that can be used as investment.--Basic economic rights such as guarantees of property and contracts.--Entrepreneurialism, creativity, and the human drive for self-improvement.--Technology and invention. While commonly seen as primary (or even the only) requirements for growth, these are strongly dependent on other factors.

A vivid narrative history of the economics of greed - how it emerged in the 1970s and bred the US economic crisis - told through the stories of those major figures primarily responsible.