It’s Time To Admit We Were Wrong About What Was Supposed To Drive The 21st Century
We need to hold ourselves accountable, make better choices and seek out greater truths
Every era contains a prism of multitudes. World War I gave way to the “Roaring 20s” and a 50-year boom in productivity. The Treaty of Versailles sowed the seeds to the second World War, which gave way to the peace and prosperity post-war era. Vietnam and the rise of the Baby Boomers unlocked a cultural revolution that created new freedoms for women and people of color.
Our current era began with the 80s, the rise of Ronald Reagan, and new confidence in the power of markets. Genuine achievements of the Chicago School of economics led by Milton Friedman, along with the weak Soviet system, led to an enthusiasm for market fundamentalism that dominated policy circles.
So it shouldn’t be that surprising that veteran Republican strategist Stuart Stevens wrote a book denouncing that orthodoxy as a lie. The truth is he has a point. But politicians can only convince us of things we already want to believe. The truth is that we were fundamentally mistaken in our understanding of how the world works. It’s time that we own up to it.
