The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Krugman
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Book Reviews of The Conscience of a Liberal
Book Review: Excellent Book and fun to read
Summary: 5 Stars
Conscience of a Liberal is written in a down to earth style that is easy to understand and a welcome relief from the cryptic styles of the likes of Alan Greenspan. Krugman finishes the book with a chapter on "what it means to be a progressive" and before that a chapter which makes a strong argument for "Universal health care". One might argue that the book was written as an argument for health care reform but no, it is much more than that. There are 8 chapters on what amounts to the history of the Democratic Party battling the Republican Party;the regular folk being beaten up by the affluent corporate executive types for control of the government.
Krugman compares the economy of today with the economy of the Great Depression and sees a great arc of change that has come full circle and back to haunt us. Unbridled Free market capitalism was rampant and out of control during the roaring twenties; taxes on the wealthy were at an all time low of 25%; union participation was 11%; congress was polarized; there was a great inequality of wealth between rich and poor.
The rise of the middle class was not a result of market forces but the direct result of legislation passed by FDR as part of the NEW DEAL. The Social Security Act created a safety net for the elderly and the handicapped, as did unemployment compensation for the unemployed; The Fair Labor Act created a minimum wage and a standard 40 hour work week ; The Wagoner Act allowed Unions to organize ; The WPA created jobs for the unemployed; spending on WWII was 30% of GDP. All of these actions lifted up the poor and the under class. The economy soared.
At the same time legislation was also enacted to limit speculation on Wall Street. The Rich were taxed unmercifully. The economy was slowly regulated from one industry to the next.
Congress started passing legislation in a bipartisan way, union participation increased to 32% which lifted up even the non union members; the great inequalities were compressed so that the rich were brought down and the poor lifted up creating a tremendous middle class. Life was good.
The signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the new Social Security Act which created Medicare were perhaps the tipping point that gave conservative right wing nuts the ammunition they needed to start unraveling the NEW DEAL. Racial undertones in the South still simmering since the civil war boiled over and delivered the southern states to the Republican party. Reagan played on that sentiment with comments pertaining to "those people ripping of the government on welfare". Reagan also played on the fear that the democratic party could not defend the country. Neither of these charges were true but the actor was good and the unraveling of the NEW DEAL continued.
Reagan and party slowly deregulated one industry after another, fought the unions until membership was back down to 11%, gave tax cuts to the rich until the tax rates are almost to great depression levels again, and finally Bill Clinton deregulated the banks which gave them a license to steal.
So the Arc of change has come full circle....We have an opportunity with a Democratic White House, House, and Senate, to turn this mess around and a great place to start would be Universal Health Care for all. Krugman shows some great comparisons between our country and other advanced countries regarding health care reform.. Krugman is convincing and brilliant. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Book Review: Movement Conservatism and The Democratic Response
Summary: 5 Stars
In "The Conscience of a Liberal," Paul Krugman first explains the "Great Compression," which is the economic equalization of American income occuring during and because of, the New Deal. Krugman then gives a very clear description of the importance of the democratic effect that economic or income equalization had on this country after the economic polarization and extreme inequality of the Guilded Age. He finally describes the re-polarization of income and its causes from the mid- 1970's to the present, a time in which the concentration of wealth and, consequently, political power matches that of the Guilded Age.
Krugman does a magnificent job of explaining "movement conservatism," which is also known as neo-conservatism. It gains its majority through an appeal to racism not outrightly but through fundamentalist moral appeals and code words. It rewards and cultivates its loyal pseudo-intellectual supporters with salaries from fake think tanks. It drains the spending capacity, creating overwhelming national debt, for chimerical national security, based on military actions which only increase the violence and terrorist reaction or blowback, while cutting taxes on the wealthy in a calculated move to starve the social programs of a modern welfare state out of existense.
Paul Krugman then explains the urgency of the need to preserve the New Deal programs such as Social Security and the expansion of the welfare state to include among other things, single payer medical care and fiancial aid for students of higher education, all of which has as its most important effect, the establishment of enough economic equality to ensure the preservation of democracy in America. It seems that while our president engages in a form of Orwellian doublespeak or newspeak about bringing democracy to the Middle East, he has been actively, along with his movement conservative base (It is interesting to note that "the base" is the english translation of "al Quaeda.")trying to destroy the egalitarian institutions which must exist in order to mainain a functioning democracy.
It is the importance of economic equality through welfare state institutions benefing not just the poor, but growing the middle class, which is essential to the maintenance of democracy in America. Democracy cannot exist if the wealthy own the government. Without a large and powerful middle class as existed after World War II, in this country, true democracy cannot exist. What we have fast been becoming is an oligarchy which controls enough of the population which votes, through racism and propaganda of its news media, to own the government which serves the oligarchy and not the people. Paul Krugman, in this book explains the practical solution, starting with universal single payer health care, of redistribution of wealth and opportunity so that the greater portion of our people will have the means and the power to control their government and make it work for them. My only hope is that it is not too late. The Democratic Party is showing signs that it can be bought and the money flowing in to Democratic coffers from the likes of hedge fund managers and medical insurance companies could well spell the doom of democracy in America. I hope I am wrong about that and that Paul Krugman is right and that there is enough of a difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to save democracy in our country.
Book Review: Anti-capitalism
Summary: 5 Stars
Krugman, in so many words, highlights the insidious creep of capitalism into government. Plutacray has overshadowed democarcy in this country, and as such, democracy may not survive. Corporations are not susceptible to the Constitution. Employees are fired for obesity, smoking, public appeals, making too high a salary, carrying a firearm in a car in the parking lot, gathering in protest; their privacy rights are constantly infringed, etc. Just about everything spelled out in the Bill of Rights and the amendments are breached within corporations. It is one small step to shift from the ethic within corporations to their outer effects within the hives of government: lobbies, executives easing from the public to private sector and back; campaign financing, the entire military-industrial-government arrangement.
If this continues, as it will, the country will assume a stance similar to that of other nations controlled by communists and their idealism. The ideas are of the same type: wealth. In communism, to convert private property to collective required a total(itarian) commitment. In the case of capitialism, the commitment is as strong, maybe stronger, as private wealth dominates social and political life. The means between the two, are differnt of course. Communist states are public and use force. Capitalist states rely more on propoganda (not absent from communism of course) and the promise of material goods and services as the key to happiness. Clearly, this is the right method for such a society. Under communism, people are not going to willingly give up property in the interest of the state. But, under capitalism, the desire to own more is quite natural, and only needs to be marketed -- without force.
The situation in the US is worsened by a smoke screen of birth and marital rights, immigration, insurance - of all things, and religious obsrevances.
But, it is Krugman's assertion that race is a major factor in conservatism (one needs to work at connecting conservatism to totalitarianism-capitalism, but it is not much of a stretch) that prompts an objection. Race in the US of course means non-African Americans versus African Americans. Is any other relationship really a problem? It is not race as much as it is culture, specifically the African Americans who are descendants of slaves (one of the most egregious acts in history is American slavery, institutionalized in the interest of capitalism). Ironically, Krugman's point does not discriminate enough to be valid. Most of the planet, including most African Americans, fear and lack respect for African Amreicans; their rage at being displaced is palpable. Asserting that this is a major factor in American politics could lead one to believe that, if this specific form of racism were arrested, America's (conservative) problems would be over. First, the assertion, and therefore any inference about cause and effect, is frivolous, becuase this toxic form of cultural-racism will never be turned around. Second, even if it were, it would make no difference to the totalitarianism of American capitalism. In fact, calling attention to the plight of Blacks in this country only further depersonalizes them, as they are being used only as a politcal chip, as in poker.
Book Review: Uncommonly insightful; sensible; reflects high integrity
Summary: 5 Stars
Paul Krugman's latest book explores the interplay between economics and politics in such a way as to underscore its inherent complexity without leading the reader into a tangle of technical opaqueness. Krugman makes it plain how political tactics can seduce the American public into voting in such a way that sometimes works against their own economic best interests. A particularly noteworthy example is, especially since the inauguration of the Reagan administration, the invocation of the race issue as an effective ploy in pulling voters (mostly Southern whites) out of the Democratic camp. This and other tactics have made what is identified as "movement conservatism" into the powerful political juggernaut that it has become over the past quarter-century.
In addition, he admits that, in writing the book, he has become increasingly persuaded that "political change in the form of rising polarization [between the very rich and the rest of us] has been a major cause of rising inequality." (p. 7) Amplifying the convictions and insights that appear in his twice-weekly column in the New York Times, Krugman shows himself to be consistent and persevering in laying bare the causes and behind-the-scenes machinations that inform today's politico-economic realities. A Princeton economics and international affairs professor as well as a highly respected op-ed columnist for the New York Times, he offers an analysis based on a rich understanding of economic and political dynamics. These competencies are undergirded by sound research and an invincible ethical perspective.
His ideas do not always give comfort to the reader - nor should they. Krugman is a true "soothsayer" in the etymological sense: he is a truth-teller. He sounds a clarion call to the American voting public to separate fact from fiction and to realize the consequences of not doing so. "The Conscience of a Liberal" succeeds potently in demystifying many of our present government policies and giving lie to the purported virtuousness of what has motivated some past liberal policies. To that extent, the author is critical not only of movement conservatism. He calls to task any groups (including Democrats) that have failed to see the fallacies and self-interest inherent in their own viewpoints, and the hazards of their own lack of timely, constructive action.
Nevertheless, this book makes very clear that the hegemony of radical conservatism in this country must and will come to an end. That is Krugman's positive message. The ideology of that political movement has been too monolithic and too myopic; it has not taken sufficiently into account the needs of a larger portion of the nation. Krugman depicts how the greed and self-righteousness of a few powerful, extremely wealthy citizens can exercise an erosive effect on America's overall economic, social, and political landscape; and that the time is ripe for a prudent, progressive leadership to reinvigorate the nation and guide it back to a greater justice and a truer democracy. Without a doubt, this book lends strong voice to what the great theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote: "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
Book Review: Important Message but Nothing Really New
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a big fan of Paul Krugman and my views about good government closely mirror his own however I may have read one too many books by writers with similar ideologies because there was very little new for me in this book. His one big idea is that many of the political decisions made in the last 60 years ago are based around race. For instance he argues that the reason that the United States doesn't have universal healthcare is because southern politicians (correctly) believed it would have forced the region to racially integrate their hospitals. Republicans have successfully leveraged the racial fears of southern whites to create a powerful voting block but as the U.S. becomes less white and whites become less apt to shiver at racial scare tactics, the Republican's may find this blunt tool has become a heavy anchor (see George Allen).
The core of the book is something that Paul Krugman has been harping on for years; that the gap between the rich and poor has increased to levels not seen since America's Gilded Age and the growing disparity shows no sign of abating. Krugman writes, "Money buys influence, and as the richest few percent of American's have grown richer... they have become rich enough to buy themselves a party" (some might argue two parties). So what we have is a feedback loop. The wealthy can buy influence, to gain votes, to allow them to grow wealthier and buy more influence. It is a huge threat to democracy but as the writer states, `From the beginning... the [conservative] movement was profoundly undemocratic, concerned, above all, with defending religion and property'. Krugman's point is that left to its own devices our economy will continue to inexorably swing towards the wealthy unless government intervenes.
Krugman is your classic liberal economist standing opposed to the Darwinian winner takes all economic philosophies of pure free market capitalism. Despite George W. Bush's attempt to demonstrate just how corrupt and incompetent the federal government can be, Krugman's still holds the faith that harnessing the power of a nation of over 300 million people can achieve great things and only through government intervention can inequities be managed. The author refers to the current strain of Conservativism as movement conservativism to differentiate it from classic conservativism. The difference is that movement conservatism is a new strain of radicalism that desires to tear down the system, the system being the welfare state that has been in place for the past 60 years.
It's not that I disagree at all with what Krugman is saying. It's that I've heard it all before. I already realize that the fuel of the Republican Party is cronyism. I'm aware of the very real `right wing conspiracy' and how it has created an interlocking set of partisan institutions. I know that CEO salaries are skyrocketing while middle class incomes have stagnated for over a decade. Regardless of how much I may agree with his ideas I have to remove one star for lack of originality. Others who are less voracious readers of liberal politics may find this book more enlightening but for me it was just a rehash. Still, Paul Krugman is an important voice and I hope his message is heard.