Capitalism in America: A History

by Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge Narrated by Ray Porter

Overview

From the legendary former Fed Chairman and the acclaimed*Economistwriter and historian, the full, epic story of America's evolution from a small patchwork of threadbare colonies to the most powerful engine of wealth and innovation the world has ever seen.

From even the start of his fabled career, Alan Greenspan was duly famous for his deep understanding of even the most arcane corners of the American economy, and his restless curiosity to know even more. To the extent possible, he has made a science of understanding how the US economy works almost as a living organism--how it grows and changes, surges and stalls. He has made a particular study of the question of productivity growth, at the heart of which is the riddle of innovation. Where does innovation come from, and how does it spread through a society? And why do some eras see the fruits of innovation spread more democratically, and others, including our own, see the opposite?

In*Capitalism in America, Greenspan distills a lifetime of grappling with these questions into a thrilling and profound master reckoning with the decisive drivers of the US economy over the course of its history. In partnership with the celebrated Economist journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge, he unfolds a tale involving vast landscapes, titanic figures, triumphant breakthroughs, enlightenment ideals as well as terrible moral failings. Every crucial debate is here--from the role of slavery in the antebellum Southern economy to the real impact of FDR's New Deal to America's violent mood swings in its openness to global trade and its impact. But to read*Capitalism in America*is above all to be stirred deeply by the extraordinary productive energies unleashed by millions of ordinary Americans that have driven this country to unprecedented heights of power and prosperity.*

At heart, the authors argue, America's genius has been its unique tolerance for the effects of creative destruction, the ceaseless churn of the old giving way to the new, driven by new people and new ideas. Often messy and painful, creative destruction has also lifted almost all Americans to standards of living unimaginable to even the wealthiest citizens of the world a few generations past. A sense of justice and human decency demands that those who bear the brunt of the pain of change be protected, but America has always accepted more pain for more gain, and its vaunted rise cannot otherwise be understood, or its challenges faced, without recognizing this legacy. For now, in our time, productivity growth has stalled again, stirring up the populist furies. There's no better moment to apply the lessons of history to the most pressing question we face, that of whether the United States will preserve its preeminence, or see its leadership pass to other, inevitably less democratic powers.

*Includes a Bonus PDF of charts.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - James B. Stewart

Less a conventional history than an extended polemic, Capitalism in America: A History…explores and ultimately celebrates the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter's concept of "creative destruction," which the authors describe as a "perennial gale" that "uproots businesses—and lives—but that, in the process, creates a more productive economy." While this approach risks oversimplifying centuries of American economic history, it provides a useful lens for analyzing America's current polarization and for understanding the centrifugal forces that have given rise to a President Trump, on the right, or a Bernie Sanders on the left…Capitalism in America is Greenspan and Wooldridge's plea to re-embrace America's long-held capitalist traditions and entrepreneurial culture in order to rescue the country from its current "fading dynamism."

Publishers Weekly

08/13/2018
Former Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan and Economist political editor Wooldridge set out to recount how the United States rose to become “the mightiest economy the world has ever seen” and explain the puzzling economic slowdown that has reared its head in the past decade. Unlike its Old World rivals, they write, America didn’t just grow rich; it churned out innovation, embracing the Schumpeterian process of “creative destruction” and allowing entrepreneurial individuals to fulfill their potential in a society where hard work was prized, newcomers encouraged, and property rights safeguarded. The authors provide a predictably triumphalist reading of the growth of American capitalism, with progressive reformers described as in thrall to the “cult of government” and late-19th-century steel barons lauded as serving the public good. In conclusion, they recommend two fixes for our current economic woes: entitlements reform and more prudent reserves ratios at big banks in order to prevent another financial collapse. Consistently engaging and packed with fun facts (an 1870s guide to barbed wire listed 749 varieties of the fencing that won the West), the book speeds along at high velocity, pausing only to extol the virtues of American democracy and capitalism—which, for the authors, are essentially the same thing. This book will hold no surprises for those familiar with Greenspan’s career. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

This book snaps, crackles and pops . . . Three themes are highlighted—productivity as the measure of economic progress; the ‘Siamese twins of creation and destruction’ as the sources of productivity growth; and the political reaction to the consequences of creative destruction . . . Readers will emerge from this heady blend of economic, business, and political history with a sense of exhilaration that so much of the American experience could be described so vividly and insightfully.” —Financial Times, one of the Best Books of The Year in Economics

“Capitalism in America makes a strong case, with some wonderful insights into business history. Innovation, spread to the masses, is indeed the engine of capitalist economies.” —The Economist

“A compelling and well-documented single-volume history. It reminds us of how the US has beaten the world in the past 150 years and why it might still be unwise to bet against it now.” —The Times of London

“A masterful guide to capitalism American style . . . You don’t have to be an economics wonk to enjoy and learn from Capitalism in America.” —The Washington Times 

“Capitalism in America is a delightful romp through the 400-year economic life of America from agricultural giant to industrial juggernaut to information/technology revolutionary. Stories and statistics sparkle on every page. But the book is more than a history. It is a policy guide to make sure capitalism in America flourishes like never before . . . this book is required reading for anyone who cares about life, liberty, and prosperity in America.” —The American Conservative

“Strongly recommended. This illuminating and in-depth history . . . is a valuable contribution to U.S. business history because it explains financial events and the culture of innovation from macro­economic perspectives and offers remarkable insights into the current business climate.” —Library Journal, starred review

“A smart and engaging look at the workings of the economic machine under various regimes, isolationist and internationalist alike.” —Kirkus

“A sweeping and brilliantly told narrative by two authors who have spent their careers thinking about the wellsprings of economic growth. Anchored by the combination of Alan Greenspan’s legendary skill with data and talent for analysis, and Adrian Wooldridge’s knowledge and perspective on business history, Capitalism in America is full of insights that will surprise you and change your perspective on many of the key episodes of U.S history.” —Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize
 
“A work of bold sweep and illuminating insight that tells nothing less than the story of American capitalism—both its extraordinary achievements and its darkest moments—from the earliest days in colonies ‘at the edge of the world,’ to the Internet revolution. Greenspan and Wooldridge combine penetrating analysis with striking portraits of the people who made it all happen, which, together, demonstrate their theme of the constant capacity for innovation and reinvention. At a time when ‘capitalism’ itself is a subject of doubt and target of assault, this is a book that the times demand, and one that will contribute much to the debate.” —Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize and The Quest and co-author of Commanding Heights: the Battle for the World Economy
 

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Ray Porter is an outstanding choice to narrate this economic history. His voice lends authority, and his energetic delivery suits the subject well. For this is an audiobook with a most singular idea of what and who have shaped our economic history. The authors’ admiring portraits of the giants of industry—Rockefeller, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan, a trio more often denigrated as robber barons—informs the story. The principle that structures the action here is “creative destruction,” the ever forward movement that pushes capitalism. Part paean to rugged individualism, part scold of the previous era of stagnation, this audiobook, while slanted, delivers a primer on how American capitalism prevailed. The authors are evenhanded, dismissing both the tariff-loving Trump and the redistribution notions of Bernie Sanders. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-07-31

Everyone's favorite Randian economist explains the rise of American economic supremacy and worries for its passing.

Former Federal Reserve chair Greenspan (The Map and the Territory: Risk, Human Nature, and the Future of Forecasting, 2013, etc.) teams up with Economist political editor Wooldridge (co-author: The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State, 2014, etc.) to chronicle the emergence of the United States from economic backwater to powerhouse, with its 5 percent of the world's population accounting for 25 percent of its GDP. By the authors' account, this rise has several key components, including diversity, equal opportunity to enter a marketplace with few barriers to entry, and an openness to contribution from just about everyone—the farmer's son Henry Ford, for instance, who toured the great slaughterhouses of Chicago and marveled at the carcasses moving through the saws and trimmers: "It was during a visit to one of these abattoirs that Henry Ford got the idea of the mass assembly line." Though of a libertarian bent, Greenspan and Wooldridge seemingly approve of public goods in the form of education, which, among other things, has long allowed the U.S. to be a "talent magnet" for entrepreneurially minded immigrants; now, events inspire them to decry "the current rise of nativism and populism." Rather more predictably, the authors lament the rise of regulation. "In the 1930s," they write, "Americans turned to government to save them from the instability of the market. In the 1980s, they turned to entrepreneurs to save them from the suffocation of government." The current regulation-heavy environment, coupled with lack of innovation and misguided efforts to place barriers on free trade, may lead to the emergence of rivals better attuned to the global market. Meanwhile, the authors foresee the beginnings of stagflation and the eventual economic decline of the once peerless U.S. market.

Not without biases, but a smart and engaging look at the workings of the economic machine under various regimes, isolationist and internationalist alike.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172110856
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,169,861

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