Progressives ambitious attempt at achieving Abundance experiences shortcomings
In a comprehensive 6500-word review for the Boston Review, Sandeep Vaheesan scrutinises the book "Abundance" by authors Jonathan Knee, Ezra Klein, and Emilie Thompson. The review raises concerns about the book's alignment with neoliberal ideology, despite its praise for Biden's industrial policy.
Vaheesan characterises the central argument of "Abundance" as advocating for private-sector deregulation, suggesting that the removal of regulatory hurdles would allow private actors to deliver material abundance. However, the review argues that this approach is flawed, as it requires a break from the ethos of neoliberalism to achieve true abundance.
The review is critical of the book's deference to private capital and hostility towards public governance. Vaheesan posits that a twenty-first-century New Deal, which emphasises government investment and regulation, is a more promising path to abundance than the one offered in "Abundance".
The review highlights the book's omission of a call for a new (or Green) New Deal, a shift in focus that is threatening to progressives who had expected anti-corporatism to define the Democrats' economic agenda. The authors' arguments, the review notes, echo the Trumpist agenda they disclaim.
The initial wave of critics, including Vaheesan, seemed to ignore the ideas in the book and instead focused on their own perspectives. Later critics became more aggressive, using insulting language towards the authors. However, Vaheesan's criticisms also highlight one of the weaknesses of the Abundance movement: the lack of discussion about concrete steps a more empowered government might take to provide abundance.
Vaheesan's review also addresses the authors' contention that excessive regulation is holding back big government. The review asserts that this stance is problematic, given the decades of anti-government rhetoric that have influenced readers' perceptions of "Abundance".
Notably, the authors of "Abundance" are Ezra Klein, a powerful tastemaker and arbiter of opinion within the Democratic party, and Jonathan Knee, who wrote the book "Force Majeure". Despite the controversy surrounding their work, the debate sparked by "Abundance" continues to shape discussions about the future of economic policy in the United States.
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