This is an interesting and compelling book on the twin subjects of economic inequality and decreased economic immobility. In short, the American dream is in serious jeopardy. The problem concerns the flourishing of a 'new class' that the author associates with so-called 'red Tories'. A red Tory is an individual who allies with the poor in order to freeze and reduce the middle class so that he/she can sustain his or her own membership in an aristocracy. In my corner of the world (the academy) I see a group of elites who relate to the downtrodden intellectually and politically, deplore the bourgeoisie (in good Marxist fashion) and relate to the rich in terms of taste and personal conservatism (though what they are conserving is their own position, not tried-and-true elements in socio/cultural/political history).
The red Tories oppose school choice, levy high taxes on business (and create high barriers to business formation), favor immigration policy that targets the poor and uneducated rather than one that is meritocratic, and assiduously lobby the government to construct policies that are of benefit to them. One of the author's prime examples is the manner in which the law is more easily used in America to prosecute the relatively guiltless. In shorthand, the new class favors the trial lawyers' lobby over the common citizenry.
The solutions are interesting, in that 'more socialist' Canada tends to be 'more capitalist' or at least more conservative in its approach to education, immigration, taxation and controls on litigation. The author—a Canadian by birth and upbringing—thus offers a unique perspective on our current challenges.
I do not have an overt criticism of the book, but I would offer the observation that education could have received more attention, both in terms of length and insistence. Education affects everyone. Our current immigration practices affect those who must compete for lower-level work and our justice system can wrong individuals such as Martha Stewart and all of those once employed by Arthur Andersen but a failed system of education affects all. Even though the red Tories insulate themselves by purchasing private education for their own children they must still live with all of the (to them) peripheral results of a failed system.
One would hope that a sequel or revised edition of the book might appear at some time, since this book appeared before the full-bore assault on the red Tories by the Trump administration.
I found the discussion of 19thc British political alignments particularly interesting as backdrop and also the discussions of American law (the particular area of the author's expertise).
Note that this is a scholarly book (with appendices detailing, e.g., the mathematics, statistics and economic theory undergirding certain arguments), but it is written for a general audience. The book is lucid, straightforward, and to the point.
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