The Conscience of a Liberal [Hardcover]

Paul Krugman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

This wholly original new work by the best-selling author of The Great Unraveling challenges America to reclaim the values that made it great.

With this major new volume, Paul Krugman, today's most widely read economist, studies the past eighty years of American history, from the reforms that tamed the harsh inequality of the Gilded Age to the unraveling of that achievement and the reemergence of immense economic and political inequality since the 1970s. Seeking to understand both what happened to middle-class America and what it will take to achieve a "new New Deal," Krugman has created his finest book to date, a work that weaves together a nuanced account of three generations of history with sharp political, social, and economic analysis. This book, written with Krugman's trademark ability to explain complex issues simply, will transform the debate about American social policy in much the same way as did John Kenneth Galbraith's deeply influential book, The Affluent Society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Economist and New York Times columnist Krugman's stimulating manifesto aims to galvanize today's progressives the way Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative did right-wingers in 1964. Krugman's great theme is economic equality and the liberal politics that support it. America's post-war middle-class society was not the automatic product of a free-market economy, he writes, but was created... by the policies of the Roosevelt Administration. By strengthening labor unions and taxing the rich to fund redistributive programs like Social Security and Medicare, the New Deal consensus narrowed the income gap, lifted the working class out of poverty and made the economy boom. Things went awry, Krugman contends, with the Republican Party's takeover by movement conservatism, practicing a politics of deception [and] distraction to advance the interests of the wealthy. Conservative initiatives to cut taxes for the rich, dismantle social programs and demolish unions, he argues, have led to sharply rising inequality, with the incomes of the wealthiest soaring while those of most workers stagnate. Krugman's accessible, stylishly presented argument deftly combines economic data with social and political analysis; his account of the racial politics driving conservative successes is especially sharp. The result is a compelling historical defense of liberalism and a clarion call for Americans to retake control of their economic destiny. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Paul Krugman is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is a best-selling author, columnist, and blogger for the New York Times, and is a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393060691
• ISBN-13: 978-0393060690
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Krugman is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. He writes a twice-weekly op-ed column for the New York Times and a blog named for his 2007 book "The Conscience of a Liberal." He teaches economics at Princeton University. His books include "The Accidental Theorist," "The Conscience of a Liberal," "Fuzzy Math," "The Great Unraveling," "Peddling Prosperity," and two editions of "The Return of Depression Economics," both national bestsellers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

284 of 343 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Politcal/Economics Book of the Decade October 14, 2007

By Betty

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Krugman does it again with an impeccably reasoned history of the interaction between US politics and economics. I wasn't expecting much new, but Krugman repeatedly opened my eyes by putting our current political conflicts in the context of 140 years worth of economic and political history. He documents how the distribution of economic resources are guided not only by Adam Smith's invisible hand but also by politics. He describes how we achieved relative equality with high productivity growth during the 1940-60s, analyzes how political decisions led to our current moderate growth with most of the benefits accruing to a small fraction of the population, and discusses the way movement conservatives have achieved and maintained political power while furthering the economic interests of a small minority. The second half of the book suggests a modest plan for liberals to achieve when they regain political power--beginning with universal health insurance.

I've often found it hard to understand what motivates conservatives. I now understand their history and ideas much better. Compromising with them isn't going to work. It will be interesting to see how conservatives respond to this book. They will clearly quibble, attack, and distract, but it is hard to see how they could counteract Krugman's carefully documented main points.

This book is a must read for everybody concerned about the direction our country is moving. The timing is propitious as it arrives just as the radical conservative movement is beginning to falter. It refutes essentially every argument radical conservatives use to advance their cause and distort discussions.... And it will be the book of the decade if it does begin the process of getting our political discussions about the undoing our social safety nets back to where they were in the 1950s. Krugman quotes Eisenhower as writing of those who would "attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs...." that "Their number is negligible and they are stupid." Radical conservatives will always be with us, but they do not need to remain in political power. Read more ›

224 of 271 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Every Penny November 30, 2007

By Edwin C. Pauzer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As baby boomers, we grew up with products "Made in the USA" and scoffed at trinkets from Japan. Our parents enjoyed life-long employment, health care, affordable education, Social Security and pensions that made the golden years more golden. This is what author Paul Krugman describes in his new book "Conscience of a Liberal." He calls this the "Great Compression" where the politics of equality was borne from the New Deal in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt defied the laws of Adam Smith and his invisible hand, and redistributed the wealth of a nation, effectively killing the "Gilded Age" where society was comprised of the very wealthy and the poor.

FDR's New Deal saw the minimum wage becoming half of the average wage earner, the rise of unions, and the mansions of the nation's wealthiest becoming museum attractions. This was the creation of the middle class that was vehemently opposed by Republicans who believed that government intervention would turn the country communist and ruin the economy. It didn't.

By the time Dwight Eisenhower, Republican, became president most in the party had made their peace with the New Deal and only a fringe of an extremist element, known as movement conservatives, still opposed it.

These conservatives made a brief, unsuccessful surge with the nomination of Barry Goldwater in 1964. They got a break when Democrats embraced civil rights, which broke the Solid South away from them. Racism and the wrath of the angry white male were exploited, and the message of Ronald Reagan could not be missed when he launched his campaign in Philadelphia, MS. Sound familiar?...

Through skillful marketing of ideas, conservatives were able to exploit racism and frame themselves as strong on defense, tough on crime, and opponents of big government and taxes, even though they lacked the record to support any of these assertions. Once again, we returned to a Gilded Age with a rising disparity between the have's and the have nots, and a declining middle class. Middle class income is less than it was under President Lyndon Johnson, and bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures have increased because of crushing medical debt and jobs being shipped overseas.

And this is where Paul Krugman claims that conservatism is running on its last pint of gas. With record low unemployment and a booming economy, Americans are still uncertain about the their future and their prospects. They have had no tax relief, no job security, income failing to keep pace with cost of living increases, rising health care insurance costs, no end to an unpopular war, rising education costs, and companies repudiating their pension promises. With forty-five million Americans having no health insurance and sixteen million being under-insured, conservatives are no longer able to convince them that they are better off with tax relief going to the richest companies, while they are trying to dismantle Medicare and Social Security, in other words, the New Deal.

In spite of the current widening gap, Krugman sees an optimistic future, a demise of movement conservatism and a return to the politics of equality through universal health care. He points out that this is not socialized medicine but socialized insurance. The government program, Medicare operates efficiently with smaller administrative costs than major insurance companies, which have considerably higher operating expenses. The author's second point is that while racism still exists, it is not as deep as it was twenty years ago, and can no longer be exploited by movement conservatives. Equally important, he believes that Americans will eventually see that conservatism is of no advantage to them, only to the corporations and the wealthy.

Writing in a style and vocabulary that will not require the reader to carry a dictionary, this award-winning columnist and economist provides an interesting background of American populism, political history of America in the 20th century, and the remedy for the current politics of inequality.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. It is worth every penny. Read more ›

103 of 124 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth clearly told October 15, 2007

By William L. Fell

Format:Hardcover

As a southerner (transplanted from Michigan), retired engineer, and a citizen very worried about my country under the conservatives, I welcome with a full heart Krugman's lucid, so truthful expose of the conservatives' motives and methods. Having perused most of the sources he names, I welcome the beautiful analysis and synthesis of the US predicament. He gives hope that we can shake off the traps and enlighten the people about their mistaken voting habits, especially those dictated by racism, which I daily see here in the southern states. Thank you so much, Paul.

91 of 111 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective, questionable economics January 2, 2010

By Ann Arbor

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a very interesting read, and being somewhat of a libertarian and leaning rightward on all things fiscal or economic, I walked away from reading "Conscience of a Liberal" with a greater understanding of the liberal viewpoint. In fact, I would also say that I have greater tolerance now for liberal policies and the welfare state in general. (However, perhaps part of that is because I also just finished George Lakoff's "Moral Politics", which was interesting and highly recommended).

Krugman definitely lambasted a handful of prominent "movement conservatives", but did so in a way that didn't offend me. Maybe that's because I share Krugman's disgust at the takeover of the republican party by the religious right. Also, I found this book to have perhaps the most clear and succinct distillation of the healthcare issue that I've been able to find anywhere. I feel I have a better handle now on what the "problems" really are. Lastly, I agree with the author that our country could tolerate somewhat higher taxes on the "ultra-rich" without significantly impairing market-based incentive forces and the entrepreneurial spirit. I am all for Krugman's ideas to clean up the tax loopholes that allow hedge fund managers to pay a lower rate. Thankfully, Krugman doesn't hint at raising corporate taxes.

However, despite all that, there are a number of important areas where I disagree or take issue with some of the author's assertions:
1) Krugman seems to yearn for the day when "A worker protected by a good union, as many were, had as secure a job and often nearly as high an income as a highly trained professional". Several times he hints at the need to achieve salary parity between high and low skilled workers. Why?... Is that really fair, and even if it were, does that make sense? As Krugman himself points out globalization has caused the U.S. economy to rely more on high technology and highly technical workers. We desparately need more engineers and scientists, and we need people to start having more interest in those subjects at an earlier age. If busting your butt to study hard, go to school, and study a difficult field in college is going to get you the same rewards as a job doing menial labor, where has the incentive gone to catch our workforce up to the 21st century?
2) I think Krugman is stretching quite a bit with his theory that the primary reason voters continue to vote republican, even when it's obviously not in their economic self interest, is due to race. As another reviewer pointed out, the South's switching over to the republican party probably has more to do with religion than race.
3) Krugman makes the point over and over again that we should be able to achieve nationalized healthcare just like Europe, with comparable costs per person. This however ignores the cultural differences between Americans and Europeans, in that Americans have very poor diet and exercise habits relative to Europeans, and Americans seem more obsessed with pills (this comes from my own personal experience spending several years in multiple countries living in Europe, where, for the most part, somebody will only take an aspirin if they are in excruciating pain).
4) Taxes: why so little mention of implementing a VAT tax or use tax? I'm guessing because these methods aren't progressive enough for the author. Be careful about raising the capital gains tax too much, that could stifle private investment. Thankfully Krugman doesn't say anything about raising corporate taxes, which would result in reduced reinvestment, reduced growth, and reduced hiring.
5) Why should France be the ideal we should be aspiring to achieve? I don't think the author has ever found himself stuck in a French city when he needed to be somewhere else, because the entire country was on strike, as I have... Not to mention that it's nearly impossible to fire somebody in France if you need to, which results in reduced hiring and a lack of negative consequences for poorly performing employees. And don't get me started about the gross inefficiencies in the numerous state-owned industries....
6) Krugman tries to tell the reader that the huge decline in union membership since the 50s is because of illegal and coercive measures used by republicans... but doesn't elaborate. The real reason unions are in decline is because of the vastly improved labor-management relations compared to 50-70 years ago, not to mention the broader range of benefits offered by most employers, and the simple fact that the better, more motivated workers are tired of being passed up for promotion by others, only because they have more seniority. Meritocracy will win every time, and unions stifle meritocracy. Unions run amock is one of the big causes for the current sorry state of Detroit, what with the unbelievable "legacy costs" of the big-3 due to excessively lavish retirement plans and disproportionate hourly wages.
7) In general, the notion that the rich become richer at the expense of the poor is overly simplistic. Krugman should know that economics is not a zero-sum game, especially in the age of globalization. Globalization results in lower prices for consumer products, and the poor benefit disproportionately from these lower prices. And to suggest that somehow the rich are getting richer by taking money that is really due lower-paid workers is very crude analysis.
8) I wish Krugman would have talked more about educational opportunity (he did make a brief reference to free college for everyone in France). If you really want to reduce "inequality", we need to make sure everyone, regardless of background, has the opportunity to excel in life and get a good education (but that's about where I stop). Assuming you can give everybody equal opportunity up to that point, from there we need to let the market work freely to encourage people to focus on areas that need the most attention.

Despite these criticisms, I enjoyed this book immensely and learned a great deal. I encourage other right-leaning students of political economy to give it a chance. Read more ›