The End Of Equality: Second Edition [Paperback]

Mickey Kaus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0465098290 | ISBN-13: 978-0465098293 | Edition: 2

This inspiring book shows that the great unfinished business of American liberalism is not to equalize money but to limit the spheres in which money matters—to put money in its place.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this ambitious , accessible and intellectually nourishing policy treatise, New Republic senior editor Kaus proposes a plan to avoid the "end of equality" that threatens America as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. For equality and capitalism to coexist, Kaus argues, we must create a public life in which money has limited influence. Thus he calls for compulsory national service and universal health care, renovated public spaces and reformed politics. Maintaining equality would become government's goal. While he names his program "Civic Liberalism" and pitches it to Democrats, Kaus is no traditionalist. He reproves "Money Liberals" for pursuing, through tax legislation, chimerical "money equality." To integrate the ghetto "underclass" into society, he recommends a national jobs program that would transform the "welfare state" into the "work ethic state." Kaus believes that if we guarantee jobs to all, while discontinuing welfare compensation for the able-bodied who refuse employment, work will become America's ultimate common denominator. There's something here for everyone to disagree with, but with his crisp, metaphor-rich writing and his command of history and political philosophy, Kaus proves persuasive.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mickey Kaus is a senior editor at The New Republic. Formerly politics editor of Harper’s and an editor at The Washington Monthly, he covered the 1988 presidential election for Newsweek. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 2 edition (April 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465098290
• ISBN-13: 978-0465098293
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, and (good LORD!) contains IDEAS!!!, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The End Of Equality: Second Edition (Paperback)

Mickey Kaus' engaging and highly readable book sets itself a pretty big task: propose, in detail, a new approach to the pursuit of equality in America, an approach that eschews the apparently unproductive obsessions of left-wing egalitarians of recent times, and instead promotes reforms just as radical as those that have emerged from the neoconservative movement. Kaus wants us to be equal - not in material goods, where he believes the government should simply enforce minimum standards (and to that effect provide jobs to all willing to take them), but rather in social terms. Reducing monetary inequality in America might be impossible, Kaus says, given the direction that modern economies are taking. How can an egalitarian resond? By reducing the sphere in which money makes a difference. "Social equality" requires that people from all strata of society mix together in a strong and broad public sphere. Kaus presents a program that would take a lot of political will to enact in full - even if you agree with aspects of it, the whole may not agree with you. The great thing is, most of his proposals could function independently, and each would work on its own to produce Kaus' vision of equality. Highly recommended.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars All of us have the potential to go off the rails now and then, July 30, 2007

By 

madhatter "madhatterlg" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The End Of Equality: Second Edition (Paperback)

I love Kaus' blog. Insightful, witty, and thought provoking. He was one of the few who understood the enormous gains to be had by the working poor with the advent of Welfare Reform. I believe he was the only liberal voice who wholeheartedly embrace that legislation.

When he touches upon such themes as forcing the poor into the mainstream of society, The End Of Equality is an engaging book. However, when Kaus descends into the quicksand of Great Society thinking (Guaranteed Job, Universal Health Care) the The End Of Equality comes off more as an artifact of the 70's than any forward looking book.

Smartly written like his blog. However the book sinks under the weight of poorly thought out ideas.

0 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Food for thought, January 27, 2006

By 

Krasimir Koychev "FilmDailies.com" (Sofia, Bulgaria) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The End Of Equality: Second Edition (Paperback)

I'm still half-way through but this is an intetersting book. If you want to see Mickey in person, you should head to his web cam disputes site: [bloggingheads.tv]