Near the end of his book, the author raises a couple of interrelated questions we should be asking ourselves. First, what kind of society do we want to live in? And second, what kind of government and political system would we like to have that best protect the interests of the majority of citizens and not just the interests of the wealthiest 1% of the population? In recent years, the top 1% has been successful in creating a number of myths such as: what is good for them is also good for the rest of us, more taxes on the rich will harm the economy, the political focus should be on debt and deficit reduction instead of on unemployment, and the privatizing or even the dismantling of the major government programs that are designed to support people in need benefits them. However, such one-dimensional propositions have created nothing but higher unemployment, a decline in real wage for American workers, a wider gap between the rich and the poor, growing inequality, and the polarization of our nation. At the conclusion of his book, Dr Stiglitz offers what he believes are the needed reforms that, if implemented, will make our economic system more equitable with a healthy growth prospect. However, there is a prerequisite that must be met before this can happen. "If these alternatives [that he suggests at the end of his book] are to be implemented, the institutional arrangements through which the decisions are made have to change" (p. 264). If not, America will no longer be the land of opportunity and equal access, especially for young graduates and for the middle class.
Even though Dr. Stiglitz paints a gloomy picture of the economic conditions in the United States, he believes that a happy ending is within reach and there could be light at the end of tunnel. "Another world is possible. We can achieve a society in accord with our fundamental values, with more opportunity, and higher total national income, a stronger democracy, and higher living standards for most individuals" (p. 266). While Dr. Stiglitz is critical of the rich and their attempts to preserve the status quo, he emphasizes that his book is not about "politics of envy," bashing, or class warfare. It is rather about raising the common consciousness about fairness and efficiency, and about an economic system that benefits all and not just the privileged few. Amassing wealth and power through rent seeking is not just and must be dealt with effectively. Government has the power and the resources to change things for the better and this task cannot be left to the private sector alone. We can get to where we want to be, but the road that takes us there will not be smooth. There can be two versions of America, he says. "One is of a society more divided between the haves and have-nots" and the other is "a society where the gap between these two groups has been narrowed, where there is a sense of shared destiny, that commitment to opportunities and fairness" (p. 289). Obviously, the second version is more consistent with the core values of America and that is the one we should aspire to construct. The author ends his book by stating that "it is not too late for this country to change course, and to recover the fundamental principles of fairness and opportunity on which it was founded" (p. 290).
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