David Brooks wrote a new article that cauterizes the notion that he is deep within the stratosphere of elitism.
David Brooks, the elitist.
David Brooks wrote a recent article titled “The Power Of Capitalism.” Sadly the article shows that he may have yet to visit Appalachia, the ghettos, and the barrios of America. This paragraph was but a form of propaganda.
My point is not that American capitalism is perfect. My point is that there is a tension between economic dynamism and economic security. For reasons deeply rooted in our culture, the American brand of capitalism has always been tilted toward dynamism, with freer markets and smaller welfare states.
Brooks is so myopic that he cannot see that the following proves the biggest problem with our economic system.
American companies continue to generate amazing value. If in 1990 you had invested $100 in the S&P 500, an index of American companies, you would have about $2,300 today, according to The Economist. If you had invested that $100 in an index of non-American rich-world stocks, you would have about $510 today.
In other words, to him, it does not matter that irrespective of the state of most Americans, the economic system continues its positive march in the aggregate. It is what defines income and wealth disparity.,
Brooks tried to knock Thomas Piketty’s book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”
In 2013, Thomas Piketty published a much discussed book called “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” arguing that widening inequality is an inherent feature of modern capitalism. The problem is that right around the publication of his book, inequality stopped widening, the economist Noah Smith notes, and it now appears to be slightly decreasing.
The American model of capitalism is under assault from the left, which rails against the supposed horrors of neoliberalism and globalization, and from Tucker Carlson-style populists, who often treat American capitalism as a great betrayal. But it has proved superior to all real world alternatives.
It was a very weak argument. That inequality “stopped widening” is just a temporary thing based on some fiscal policies.
But here is the reality. If the sum of incomes of 10 people increases by $10000, then the average increase is $1000. But that is only half the story. If one person gets an increase n $9000 and the next thousand is split between the other 9, the increase might seem substantial. It is for one person, but the other nine see little change. That is the design of our economic system. Yes, the economy continues to grow. Unfortunately, it does not benefit most.
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