大きな政府擁護論 The Case for Big Government (The Public Square)

Madrick, Jeff/ O'Brien, Ruth (FRW)

Princeton University Press（2010/02発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 224 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780691146201
• DDC分類 320.973

基本説明

New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2008. Madrick proves that an engaged government - a big government of high taxes and wise regulations - is necessary for the social and economic answers that Americans desperately need in changing times.

Full Description

Political conservatives have long believed that the best government is a small government. But if this were true, noted economist Jeff Madrick argues, the nation would not be experiencing stagnant wages, rising health care costs, increasing unemployment, and concentrations of wealth for a narrow elite. In this perceptive and eye-opening book, Madrick proves that an engaged government--a big government of high taxes and wise regulations--is necessary for the social and economic answers that Americans desperately need in changing times. He shows that the big governments of past eras fostered greatness and prosperity, while weak, laissez-faire governments marked periods of corruption and exploitation. The Case for Big Government considers whether the government can adjust its current policies and set the country right. Madrick explains why politics and economics should go hand in hand; why America benefits when the government actively nourishes economic growth; and why America must reject free market orthodoxy and adopt ambitious government-centered programs.
He looks critically at today's politicians--at Republicans seeking to revive nineteenth-century principles, and at Democrats who are abandoning the pioneering efforts of the Great Society. Madrick paints a devastating portrait of the nation's declining social opportunities and how the economy has failed its workers. He looks critically at today's politicians and demonstrates that the government must correct itself to address these serious issues. A practical call to arms, The Case for Big Government asks for innovation, experimentation, and a willingness to fail. The book sets aside ideology and proposes bold steps to ensure the nation's vitality.

Contents

Foreword xi Preface to the Paperback Edition xiii PART I: Government and Change in America 1 The Danger of an Ideology The Evidence Looking-Back Narratives from the Right and Left The Myth of Laissez-Faire The Many Uses of Government in the 1800s Government as an Agent of Change in the 1900s The Economic Benefits of Government Resisting a Pragmatic Government PART II: How Much We Have Changed 65 The History of Change The New Challenge to the Standard of Living The Broad Threat to the American Promise It's Not Just Inequality When Knowledge Also Changes The Purpose of Government Forsaking Pragmatism for Ideology PART III: What to Do 125 Pessimism in America The Failure of ConventionalWisdom America Has the Money An Agenda Notes 177 Index 195