THE GLOBAL AUCTION: Conclusion

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaI've been reading THE GLOBAL AUCTION by Brown, Lauder and Ashton (Oxford University Press 2011), and I've blogged a couple of times about its thesis.  The subtitle pretty much captures it: "The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs, and Incomes."  I finished it during my cardio workout on Friday night.  Here's the book's conclusion:

"In the opening chapter, we began with de Tocqueville's depiction of America as a land of opportunity.  He saw it as a bold social experiment that has come to define American society.  We have shown that the American Dream has faltered as the neoliberal opportunity bargain exposed individuals and families to relentless market competition both at home and overseas that has broken the promise of education, jobs, and incomes.  The question is whether American democracy will give rise to another bold experiment needed to bring together prosperity and justice in ways based on a fundamentally different set of social priorities, including a shared prosperity that exists beyond job markets or national borders.  Today, there seems little prospect of political leaders taking up the challenge of converting the private troubles felt by middle-class Americans, as well as the enduring suffering of less affluent families, into public issues of policy reform.  However, a major lesson that we have learned in writing this book is always to remain open to surprises.  So we will continue in the hope that Americans, along with other developed and emerging nations, will ultimately rise to the national as well as global challenges that will shape the quality of life for the next generation."

I too remain open to surprises.  I have been profoundly surprised three times in my life:

1.  The end of the Cold War and the USSR without a nuclear holocaust.

2.  The end of Apartheid without a blood bath.

3.  The election by AMericans of a black president.

So anything is possible.