American Amnesia

Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson argue that the United States has suffered from a collective "amnesia" regarding the vital role of public investment and mixed-economy strategies in generating broad-based prosperity. They contend that the post-World War II era of shared growth was built on a partnership between government and business, a relationship that has since been eroded by a rise in anti-government market fundamentalism. The authors trace how political and economic elites have successfully decoupled the interests of American business from the well-being of the general public, leading to a system where corporate power dominates policy at the expense of social development.

Written in a rigorous yet accessible academic style, the book employs historical analysis to demonstrate that the current economic landscape is not an inevitable result of free-market forces but rather the product of specific political choices. By examining the decline of state capacity and the rise of regulatory capture, Hacker and Pierson offer a corrective to narratives that blame government intervention for economic stagnation. Their work serves as a critical examination of how institutional changes have favored capital over labor, urging a re-evaluation of the state's role in fostering sustainable economic health.

Description adapted from Open Library ↗.