Thread by @DLeonhardt

I consider this chart to be the clearest indictment of our country’s path over the last several decades: In 1980, the U.S. had a typical life expectancy for an affluent country. Today, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy of any affluent country:

I’ve spent the last several years writing a book that tries to make sense of how our country has gotten here – and what we can do to set ourselves on a different path. I hope you’ll read it.
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217260/o…

The story that I tell is a difficult one at times. There is plenty of reason for outrage. But there is also reason for hope, for resilience, and for confidence that Americans have the power to create a better society than the one we now have. Why? We have done it before.

The inspiring parts of my story are full of heroes. And learning about their lives was one of the joys of writing this book. Some are not very well known (like Grace Hopper and Paul Hoffman)....

… Others are better known, but I don’t think their full importance is understood. One example: A. Philip Randolph, the labor and civil rights leader who understood how to amass and wield political power for the benefit of millions of Americans.

Over the past half-century our society has abandoned working-class people – of all races – in crucial ways. Their incomes have stagnated, as has their life expectancy. They no longer trust either political party or other institutions. They are frustrated, with good reason.

How did this happen? I tell that story too – through a different set of historical figures, including Robert Bork, Anne Gorsuch and George Meany. And I loved the process of learning about their lives as well.

My basic argument is that the past century has seen a struggle between democratic capitalism and rough-and-tumble capitalism. Democratic capitalism respects both the power and the weaknesses of the free market. Rough-and-tumble capitalism keeps taxes low and regulation light.

I like the term “democratic capitalism” because it captures the symbiotic relationship between the two ideas under the best of circumstances. Democratic governance prevents the excesses of capitalism, while rising living standards foster the good will on which democracy depends.

Democracy can strengthen capitalism, and capitalism can strengthen democracy.

If you’re tempted to give up on our political system as hopelessly rigged, I would urge you not to be. Every successful political movement of the past century did not give up on the political system. It set out to change that system.

My book is called Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. It is a history, and it is an argument about how to create a better America. It's out Oct. 24. I hope you will consider pre-ordering it.
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217260/o…