As professional scholars we are in awe of the powerful economy of this masterful book. In this tour de force, Pierson and Hacker systematically unfold the story of the gradual construction of our now failing political and economic system over the last three decades. All of us old enough to have the appropriate perspective are very well aware that we have been sinking into a condition where our economic systems bleed us dry and gives us no security (or even adequate education or health care), while demanding ever greater sacrifices and brutally demanding work from us – at ever lower wages. For example,the American economy has continuously grown more productive over the last three decades; however, unlike earlier eras, virtually all the material benefit from this increased productivity has gone to a tiny group of individuals at the top of the wealth/income pyramid. [Not coincidentally, the last time wealth was this concentrated in elite hands was during the run up to the Great Depression of the 1930’s.] Moreover, these hyper-wealthy interests have increasingly purchased our political system (we no longer own our own country). As Pierson and Hacker carefully (and very readably) document, this ownership has allowed the hyper-rich to skew the rules of the game in their interests, more extremely every day. The recent financial crisis is just the latest rupturing of this political pustule – and it will not be the last or, horrifyingly, the worst. For those who seek to take back democratic ownership of our county (and the economy that is supposed to nurture us), this book is absolutely indispensable.
Reviewed by Paul M. Bingham and Joanne Souza
Coauthors of “Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe”
Paul Pierson and Jacob S. Hacker
Simon & Schuster (2010)
