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The Good Life and Its Discontents
The Good Life and Its Discontents
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Robert J. Samuelson calls the period in U.S. history from the end of World War II to the present the "Age of Entitlement." The unprecedented strength of our economy during this time enabled us to undertake governmental approaches to alleviate or, at our most optimistic, eliminate a vast range of social problems. As the number of such programs increased in size and cost, the economy, while still the strongest in the world, slowed, and our national debt reached previously unheard of figures. But so many had been told that they were entitled to certain government-financed benefits that almost any attempt to reverse commitments made in other, more prosperous circumstances left many recipients dispirited and argumentative.
In his thought-provoking and very readable book The Good Life and Its Discontents, Samuelson, a former reporter for the Washington Post and now a columnist for Newsweek, explores in detail how we got into this fix. There is something in his well-documented study to upset almost everyone. A particular strength of the book is Samuelson's ability to discuss important economic matters in layperson's terms. You may not always agree with him, but at least you understand how he arrived at his interpretations.
The author notes that "the war and the Depression seemed to discredit the notion that 'just leaving things alone' was the best way to proceed. The postwar style of politics would blend the two experiences into the 'politics of problem solving.' The phrase conveyed a faith that, as a nation, we might solve whatever problems presented themselves." Citizens did not want either government or business to dominate but rather some kind of shared collaboration "that recognized few hard lines between governmental and private responsibilities."
Samuelson sees the most important development in the 1950s as the fact that we began to take prosperity for granted, a trend that continued into the 1960s. At the same time, "In foreign policy Americans began to think of the supremacy of the United States as part of the natural order of things." We began to assume a false sense of entitlement, and an inflated sense of power.
During this period, many of us believed, and some still do, that the economy could be manipulated for the greater social good, but Samuelson emphasizes that economics is not a perfect science, and that economic life is erratic, precarious, and often unjust. The author is also critical of "the myth of management"ัthe idea that we could transform America into a giant and efficient corporation.
Samuelson's discussion of solutions is commonsensical. He sees balancing the budget as the critical first step in a process, but that does not mean that it must be precisely balanced each year. A much more difficult problem is how to cope with Medicaid and Medicare spending and Social Security. He proposes, among other things, raising the retirement age beyond 65 and cutting back benefits to better-off elderly citizens. In the aging area, as in others, the author emphasizes the importance of responsibility: who has it and who should?
Although progress has been made in many areas, Samuelson does not claim that the cure for our social ills, especially problems of race and poverty, is clear. In this presidential election year, Samuelson's book gives us stimulating and useful background as we sort through the claims of the candidates.
Roger Bishop is Contributing Editor to BookPage.
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