The Price of Prosperity: Why Rich Nations Fail and How to Renew Them

by Todd G. Buchholz

Overview

In this bold history and manifesto, a former White House director of economic policy exposes the economic, political, and cultural cracks that wealthy nations face and makes the case for transforming those same vulnerabilities into sources of strength—and the foundation of a national renewal.

America and other developed countries, including Germany, Japan, France, and Great Britain are in desperate straits. The loss of community, a contracting jobs market, immigration fears, rising globalization, and poisonous partisanship—the adverse price of unprecedented prosperity—are pushing these nations to the brink.

Acclaimed author, economist, hedge fund manager, and presidential advisor Todd G. Buchholz argues that without a sense of common purpose and shared identity, nations can collapse. The signs are everywhere: Reckless financial markets encourage people to gamble with other people’s money. A coddling educational culture removes the stigma of underachievement. Community traditions such as American Legion cookouts and patriotic parades are derided as corny or jingoistic. Newcomers are watched with suspicion and contempt.

As Buchholz makes clear, the United States is not the first country to suffer these fissures. In The Price of Prosperity he examines the fates of previous empires—those that have fallen as well as those extricated from near-collapse and the ruins of war thanks to the vision and efforts of strong leaders. He then identifies what great leaders do to fend off the forces that tear nations apart.

Is the loss of empire inevitable? No. Can a community spirit be restored in the U.S. and in Europe? The answer is a resounding yes. We cannot retrieve the jobs of our grandparents, but we can embrace uniquely American traditions, while building new foundations for growth and change. Buchholz offers a roadmap to recovery, and calls for a revival of national pride and patriotism to help us come together once again to protect the nation and ensure our future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062405715
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	389
Sales rank:	429,908
File size:	921 KB

About the Author

Todd G. Buchholz is a former White House director of economic policy, managing director of the legendary Tiger hedge fund, and winner of Harvard’s annual teaching prize in economics. He is the author of New Ideas from Dead Economists and New Ideas from Dead CEOs, and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, and Forbes. He regularly appears on PBS, NPR, Fox, and CNBC, and is a co-producer of the Broadway hit Jersey Boys. Buchholz has served as a fellow at Cambridge University and is the inventor of the Math Arrow Matrix. He lives in Southern California.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: The Paradox of Prosperity 1

Part I Shattering Forces

Chapter 1 The Paradox of Borders, Diapers, and Golf Courses 15

Chapter 2 Melancholia Madeleine and the Paradox of Trade 43

Chapter 3 The Problem with Other People's Money: Debt 71

Chapter 4 The Problem with Work: Stuck in First Gear 97

Chapter 5 Patriotism, Immigration, and Grit in the Era of the Selfie 127

Part II Leading the Charge

Chapter 6 Alexander and the Great Empire 171

Chapter 7 The Orient Express Heads West: Atatürk 197

Chapter 8 Can East Meet West? The Meiji Revolution 235

Chapter 9 Two Audacious Leaders and No Excuses: Don Pepe and Golda 267

Conclusion: Do Not Go Gentle 297

Acknowledgments 323

Notes 325

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

04/25/2016
Buchholz, director of economic policy in the George H.W. Bush White House, examines the forces that threaten to bring down wealthy countries, observing of the modern-day U.S., that “it is hard to get a country to ‘rally around the flag’ when everyone stomps off in his or her own direction.” He states that it’s a dangerous mistake to think societies are invincible just because they have wealth, citing the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires to show that great wealth will not necessarily protect a regime. In search of examples of strong leadership, he turns to Alexander the Great, Japan’s Meiji Restoration, Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, and Costa Rican president José Figueres Ferrer, among others. He also draws a grim picture of the U.S. as a country hamstrung by an aging populace, trade deficits, debt, a suffering work ethic, and loss of national identity. Buchholz charges that Americans no longer identify as Americans first, but he neatly avoids the trap of whining about the decline of patriotism, focusing instead on quantifiable social and economic change. Some sketched-out solutions are offered, but overall this is less a rallying cry than an interesting view on what makes—and breaks—a wealthy nation. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Buchholz is surely right that fostering a stronger sense of common identity is likely to be part of the answer to sustaining public support for open trade and borders.

Financial Times

highly entertaining, far-sighted, and enjoyably acerbic”.

Sunday Times (London)

In sum, this isn’t your typical economics tome. But it is typical of Buchholz. His books are always entertaining, often insightful, and sometimes downright scary. What they never are is boring.

Weekly Standard

Todd Buchholz’s The Price of Prosperity is loaded with witty and provocative insight into the vexing question of our era: where do the prosperous nations go from here? Inevitable collapse, perpetual stagnation, or renewed purpose and prosperity?

Michael J. Boskin

A lively, well-documented and important book. For at least a century, intellectuals have been heralding the death of the nation state, and often applauding it. But Todd Buchholz thinks it would be a disaster. He explains that the economic successes of our nations in some ways undermine them from within. But rather than regretting the past or lamenting the present, this book suggests important things we can do - above all by strengthening the symbols and histories that create identity and help us face the future together

Robert Tombs

A lively, well-documented and important book. For at least a century, intellectuals have been heralding the death of the nation state, and often applauding it. But Todd Buchholz thinks it would be a disaster. He explains that the economic successes of our nations in some ways undermine them from within. But rather than regretting the past or lamenting the present, this book suggests important things we can do - above all by strengthening the symbols and histories that create identity and help us face the future together

Lawrence H. Summers

A ‘must read’ for anyone searching for a path to American economic renewal. The elephant in the room in the 2016 presidential campaign is the question of whether America is in decline. In this powerful and provocative book, Todd Buchholz recalls stumbles of other rich nations in history, and he offers a clear roadmap for America to regain her footing today.

Glenn Hubbard

Sure, The Price of Prosperity is about economics—sort of. But that’s just a jumping-off point for this fascinating romp through sociology, anthropology, politics, and above all history. Buchholz’s big lesson is that prosperity is not enough to hold a country together; we need culture, community, patriotism—and babies! But he draws readers to that conclusion with a crackling good read—a tour de force that leaps through time and space and is as entertaining as it is educational.

Alan S. Blinder

05/01/2016
Buchholz, a former White House director of economic policy, hedge fund managing director, and author (New Ideas from Dead Economists), worries that prosperous nations such as the United States tend to splinter from within. He says national success breeds decline and cites examples such as the ancient Spartans, medieval Venice, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The first half of the book presents five driving forces that weaken rich nations: declining birthrates, disruptive global trade, rising debt loads, eroding work ethic, and the dilemma of preserving patriotism in growing multicultural societies. The second part shows how solutions can be found in transformative leadership, providing examples from history such as Alexander the Great, Turkey's Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Meiji Revolution in Japan, Don Pepe of Costa Rica, and Israel's Golda Meir. Buchholz concludes by prescribing specific policies to ameliorate the negative forces he has identified. His broad advice is for leaders to instill in all citizens a shared sense of national history and culture. VERDICT Targeting a general audience with clarity and humor, Buchholz's insights will interest readers concerned about sustaining national unity. [See Prepub Alert, 12/7/15.]—Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA

Library Journal

2016-04-07
How to renew the greatness of rich but potentially failing nations, like the United States.With a background as a hedge fund manager and the director of economic policy in George H.W. Bush's administration, Buchholz (Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race, 2011, etc.) has the credentials to address the reasons why prosperous countries decline and to provide solid ideas on the cultural and political choices required to change course. "Working to shatter nations" are forces such as falling birth rates, rising debt, and declining work ethics, which the author believes threaten the United States and much of Europe. An advocate of free markets, his views are not readily pigeonholed in the usual ideological categories. He supports immigration and assimilation through the culture and values of the host country. Decline, he argues, stems "from the prosperity delivered by market capitalism." As he notes, "the rise of science and the Enlightenment catapulted societies into a new world of economic growth and opportunity." People grew taller and healthier and lived longer, and they built cities to live in. The author's objective is to learn from how past leaders have dealt with similar problems and the associated cultural pessimism. He believes that it is important to "kick aside conventional wisdom," dismantle special privileges, whether of money or birth, and know "how to touch the hearts of their people." As examples of those people, he offers Alexander the Great; Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular, Turkey; Golda Meir, one of the pioneer builder-settlers of Israel; Sakamoto Ryoma and other organizers of Japan's 19th-century opening to Western science and technology; and José Figueres Ferrer, architect of Costa Rica's independence. Each of these figures, writes Buchholz, realized "that money and genetics were not enough"; they also needed to restore lost senses of pride, honor, and purpose. A refreshing book that offers an alternative to the failing shibboleths of the day.

Kirkus Reviews