The Great Stagnation, by Tyler Cowen. Having just read (a year late) John Cassidy’s account of the financial crisis, and having thoroughly enjoyed Cowen’s previous book, I thought I should check out this new book by one of the most interesting minds of our time. Cowen’s thesis is that the American economy has been built on low-hanging fruit — large amounts of good land given away for free by the government, cheap immigrant labor — of which we have now run out, with the result that median income has actually decreased over the past few decades and that, except for the Internet, everyday life is not sensibly different in 2010 than it was in 1985. In this short offering — I see this book more as a long paper than as an actual book — Cowen has the merit of offering possible solutions. One of those solutions is to give scientists more prestige and, in the avowed spirit of Ayn Rand, to encourage young Americans into becoming scientists rather than lawyers, doctors, or investment bankers. Another one is to not demonize those whom we disagree with politically so as to have an actual dialogue. Although The Great Stagnation is so far only available on Kindle at a very low price, I am not sure that this constitutes a paradigm shift in publishing.
Published January 30, 2011