Full Description
How Government Built America challenges growing, anti-government rhetoric by highlighting the role government has played in partnering with markets to build the United States. Sidney A. Shapiro and Joseph P. Tomain explore how markets can harm and fail the country, and how the government has addressed these extremes by restoring essential values to benefit all citizens. Without denying that individualism and small government are part of the national DNA, the authors demonstrate how democracy and a people pursuing communal interests are equally important. In highly engaging prose, the authors describe how the government, despite the complexity of markets, remains engaged in promoting economic prosperity, protecting people, and providing an economic safety net. Each chapter focuses on a historical figure, from Lincoln to FDR to Trump, to illustrate how the government-market mix has evolved over time. By understanding this history, readers can turn the national conversation back to what combination of government and markets will best serve the country.
Contents
1. Introduction - the historical necessity of government; 2. The founders' America - government and markets; 3. Abraham Lincoln's America - a fair chance; 4. Ida Tarbell's America - markets for everyone; 5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's America - saving capitalism; 6. Dwight Eisenhower's America - prosperity and anxiety; 7. Rachel Carson's America - saving the environment; 8. John Lewis's America - equal justice for all; 9. Alfred Kahn's America - rebalancing the mix; 10. Ronald Reagan's America - freedom for markets; 11. Mitch McConnell's America - court packing; 12. Donald Trump's America - challenging democracy; 13. Anthony Fauci's America - making government work; 14. Joe Biden's America - much to restore, much to build; 15. Conclusion - going forward.
