The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement

by Robert J. Samuelson

A New York Times Business Book Bestseller

"Shrewd and optimistic. . . . [ The Good Life and Its Discontents ] combines first-rate analysis with persuasive historical, political and sociological insights." — The New Republic

Today Americans are wealthier, healthier, and live longer than at any previous time in our history. As a society, we have never had it so good. Yet, paradoxically, many of us have never felt so bad. For, as Robert J. Samuelson observes in this visionary book, our country suffers from a national sense of entitlement—a feeling that someone, whether Big Business or Big Government, should guarantee us secure jobs, rising living standards, social harmony, and personal fulfillment.

In The Good Life and Its Discontents , Samuelson, a national columnist for Newsweek and the Washington Post , links our rising expectations with our belief in a post-Cold War vision of an American utopia. Using history, economics, and psychology, he exposes the hubris of economists and corporate managers and indicts a government that promises too much to too many constituencies. Like David Reisman's The Lonely Crowd and John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society , the result is a book that defines its time—and that is sure to shape the national debate for years to come.

"A smart, balanced epitaph for an era—with a few clues for what's ahead." — Business Week

"Lucid [and] nonsectarian . . . Samuelson traces how the reasonable demand for progress has given way to the excessive demand for perfection." — The New York Times

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Politics

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 1995

Reviews

[Mark Tatge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that looks at why Americans feel entitled to so much even after having achieved one of the highest living standards in the world.

[Steven W Oatway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am on page 69 and find this superbly written book difficult to put down. It is explaining how we came to have these enormous problems over the last 77 years by using facts not conjecture so is very believable. I will save a full review for when I am finished but believe this book should be required reading in North American High Schools. I doubt that will happen because then our leaders from all aspects of our societies will not have an obvious villain to focus on to be able to continue to fragment us into squabbling children with no power or energy left to fix what desperately needs to be fixed.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preface

Introduction

I The Entitlement Society
The Postwar Paradox
History's Chasm
The Cult of Affluence
Prosperity's Broken Promise

II The New Capitalism
The Apostles of Control
Cheery Economics
The Myth of Management
The Real Economy

III The Politics of Overpromise
Colliding Ideals
Borrow and Spend
Elusive Equality
Suicidal Government

Epilogue

History's Cycles
Responsibility, Not Entitlement
Crisis or Consensus?

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting and a relatively easy read. Its basic premise is that over the past century, Americans in general have developed a sense of entitlement. This sense of entitlement extends far beyond the common understanding of entitlement (e.g. government programs such as social security) and is rooted in the political and economic theories that dominated and shaped the course of political events from the 50s forward and ultimately led Americans in general, to have greater expectations for economic security than government could realistically provide. A great read as a back drop for the coming debate on how to re-envision Americans' relationship and expectations of government.