The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Social Issues
[ Browse Items ]
Publication Year
2017
Publisher
St. Martin's Press, United States
Pages
241
Subject
Social Issues
Tags
Description
Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a signature American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change have produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs. The problem, according to Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition - we're working harder than ever to avoid change. We're moving residences less, marrying people more like ourselves, and choosing our music and our mates based on algorithms that wall us off from anything that might be too new or too different. according to Cowen, there are significant collateral downsides attending this comfort, among them heightened inequality and segregation and decreased incentives to innovate and create.
Number of Copies
1
