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"This readable and important book makes a strong case that the received version of economic history taught in high schools and colleges across the country is off the mark and that its errors distort current policy debates. It deserves attention from economic policymakers of all persuasions." -LAWRENCE SUMMERS, former Secretary of the Treasury; President Emeritus, Harvard University
Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism has unleashed unimaginable growth in opportunity and prosperity. And yet, at key points in American history, economic disruption has led to a greater role for government, ostensibly to protect against capitalism's excesses. Today, government regulates, mandates, subsidizes and controls a growing share of the American economy.
In this book, Phil Gramm, one of America's premier public policy advocates, and noted economist Donald J. Boudreaux look at the seven events and issues in American history that define, for most Americans, the role of government and how the 21st century world works. To many Americans, these 5 periods of American history-the Industrial Revolution, Progressive Era, Great Depression, decline of America's postwar preeminence in world trade, and the Great Recession--along with the existing levels of income inequality and poverty, represent strong evidence for expanding government in American life. Gramm and Boudreaux argue that the evidence points to a contrary verdict: government interference and failed policies pose the most significant threat to economic freedom.
Setting up each topic with a "just the facts" approach that defies partisanship, Gramm and Boudreaux provide a compelling and highly readable powerful reassessment that will challenge open-minded readers to rethink the conventional wisdom and the policies that spring from them.
Sommario
Preface and Introduction: How the Lessons we Learn from History Affect Our Political Values
Chapter 1. The Genesis Myth: the Industrial Revolution Impoverished Workers
Chapter 2. Progressive Era Regulation: the Myth and the History
Chapter 3. The Myth that the Great Depression was a Failure of Capitalism
Chapter 4. The Myth of Trade Hollowing Out American Manufacturing
Chapter 5. The Financial Crisis Myth: Deregulation Caused the Financial Crisis
Chapter 6. The Myth and Reality of Income Inequality in America
Chapter 7. The Myth that Poverty is a Failure of American Capitalism
Chapter 8. Lessons and Conclusions
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Phil Gramm served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives and eighteen years in the U.S. Senate where he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. Gramm is a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank and is now Vice Chairman of Lone Star Funds. He taught Economics at Texas A&M University and has published numerous articles and books including The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate, coauthored with Robert Ekelund and John Early, a Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2022 and winner of the 2024 Hayek Book Prize. Gramm lives in the Helotes, TX.
