Wealth and Poverty: A New Edition for the Twenty-First Century [Hardcover]

George Gilder (Author), Steve Forbes (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2012

Hailed as “the guide to capitalism,” the New York Times bestseller Wealth and Poverty by George F. Gilder is one of the most famous economic books of all time and has sold more than one million copies since its first release. In this influential classic, Gilder explains and makes the case for supply-side economics, proves the moral superiority of free-market capitalism, and shows why supply-side economics are more effective at decreasing poverty than government-regulated markets.

Now, in this new and completely updated edition of Wealth and Poverty, Gilder compares America’s current economic challenges with her past economic problems–particularly those of the late 1970s–and explains why Obama’s big-government, redistributive policies are doing more harm than good for the poor.

Making the case that supply-side economics and free market policies are–and always will be–the answer to decreasing America’s poverty rate and increasing her prosperity, Wealth & Poverty offers solutions to America’s current economic problems and hope to those who fear that our best days are behind us.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Capitalism Endures

When George Gilder first published Wealth & Poverty in 1981, the book was an instant classic, becoming the economics bible of the unfolding Reagan revolution. “Not since the Gilded Age of the late 1800’s has anyone advanced so enthusiastic an endorsement of capitalism and capitalists,” observed the New York Times.

Now, amid the Obama administration’s redistributionist zeal, industrial planning schemes, vandalistic energy policies, demonization of wealth-creating entrepreneurs, and Keynesian spending programs, Gilder returns to the fray with an updated edition of his famous tome.


Thirty years after his paean to free enterprise shocked the Washington establishment, have the collapse of Enron, the economic meltdown of 2008, the advent of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and other events caused Gilder to reassess his devotion to capitalism? In a way, they have. As Gilder states in this edition, “It is clear that we, the original supply siders, bear some responsibility for the failure to persuade. All these years later, it has become clear that we were not radical enough.”

Dissatisfied with half-hearted defenses of capitalism as the least bad system available, Wealth & Poverty passionately extols the morality, compassion, and efficacy of free enterprise. Buoyed by the collapse of communism but disturbed by the return of socialism under new guises, Gilder argues in a new prologue and epilogue that the solution to America’s current economic troubles cannot be found in warmed-over socialism, but in the generosity and economic vitality that can only be unleashed by the free market.

As President Obama’s policies lend Gilder’s arguments a shocking new relevancy, Gilder reminds us why the New Yorker called him a “scourge of feminists, unrepentant supply-sider, and now…a technology prophet.” Featuring a new foreword by Steve Forbes, this edition of Wealth & Poverty informs us that free enterprise is the core of freedom—and that nations which forget or ignore that historical lesson will not and cannot prosper.

From the Back Cover

From the New Prologue

The United States over the last decade has witnessed a classic confrontation between the forces of entrepreneurial capitalism and those of established institutions claiming a higher virtue, expertise, and political standing. One side subsists on unforced profits of enterprise; the other on rents and tolls and privileges at the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the White House.

&hellp;The wealth of America is not an inventory of goods; it is an organic living entity, a fragile pulsing fabric of ideas, expectations, loyalties, moral commitments, and visions. To vivisect it for redistribution is to kill it. As President Mitterand’s French technocrats discovered in the 1980s, and President Obama’s quixotic American ecocrats are discovering today, government managers of complex systems of wealth soon find they are administering an industrial corpse, a socialized Solyndra.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; Second Edition edition (August 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596988096
• ISBN-13: 978-1596988095
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Free Enterprise
  • #56 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Political Economy
  • #58 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Poverty

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "SOLUTIONS TO AMERICA'S CURRENT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS!" August 22, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"WEALTH AND POVERTY" was first published in 1981, which sold more than one million copies, an instant classic and one of the most famous economic books of all time. This is the updated version by George F.Gilder as he presents America's current economic challenges with past economic problems, explaining why Obama's big-government policies are doing more harm than good for the poor. The author offers solutions to America's current economic problems and hope for the future, revealing an excellent endorsement of capitalism. Gilder explains that free enterprise is the core of freedom, and nations that ignore this lesson cannot prosper. In conclusion, the answer to decreasing poverty and increasing prosperity is supply-side economics and free market policies. Informative, Concise, Comprehensive, and Highly Recommended for all Americans!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the Doldrums September 2, 2012

By Andrew Cort, author of THE DOOR IS OPEN

Format:Hardcover

In this new edition of "Wealth and Poverty", George Gilder suggests that a successful economy is driven less by incentives (like tax cuts) than by the unimpeded flow of information. "Capitalism is more an information system than an incentive system. Increasing revenues come not from a mere scheme of carrots and sticks but from the development and application of productive knowledge"

It is precisely by constantly talking about tax incentives, he says, rather than about freely-flowing information, that many free market economists have unwittingly helped to encourage the false common notion that capitalism is based on greed. But greed, Gilder insists, does not create business growth. It is new information, new knowledge, and creative imagination that stimulates new enterprises and revitalizes old ones. Greed merely induces business owners to become more and more entwined with and dependent upon the government, from whom they seek subsidies and `guarantees' that lower their risk and assure them of steady profit, in exchange for conforming their behavior to bureaucratic standards. This creates a certain amount of safety, but it also creates an economic environment that stifles the boldness and creativity of entrepreneurs.

I'm an old Massachusetts Kennedy Liberal Democrat, and I certainly do not agree with every statement in this book. But it is well-written, intelligent and decent, and Gilder makes an impressive case for putting an end to all the negativity and discouragement that are so pervasive these days, and for encouraging enterprise and growth as the best means to get America out of the doldrums and back to prosperity and optimism.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book with Old Data September 10, 2012

By Eugene Kasper

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The original Wealth and Poverty was one of a few great books in the 20th Century. This book is a rehash but a rehash is well worth the read and investment. However the data is old and without new examples based on more current data this books usefulness is downgraded. The references date back mostly to the 1970s and early eighties. Of course some are relevant but many conclusions should be based on more current data. The conclusions however are excellent and well reasoned.

I feel I am criticizing a great person but that is not my intent. George Gilder is a hero as his insight changed many to understand not just economics but the future. I have worn out at least three copies of the original Wealth and Poverty but learned a lot in this new edition. This is a great book by a great American. Buy it and study it.