From the author of Day of Reckoning, the acclaimed critique of Ronald Reagan’s economic policy (“Every citizen should read it,” said The New York Times): a persuasive, wide-ranging argument that broadly distributed economic growth provides benefits far beyond the material, creating and strengthening democratic institutions, establishing political stability, fostering tolerance, and enhancing opportunity.

“Are we right,” Benjamin M. Friedman asks, “to care so much about economic growth as we clearly do?” To answer, Friedman reaches beyond economics. He examines the political and social histories of the large Western democracies—particularly of the United States since the Civil War—distinguishing times of generally rising living standards from those of pervasive stagnation to illustrate how rising incomes render a society more open and democratic. He shows, too, how our attitudes toward economic growth and its consequences have roots in the thinking of prior centuries, especially the Enlightenment, and also include significant strands of religious influence.

Friedman also delineates the role of economic growth in determining which developing nations extend the broadest freedoms to their citizenry. He makes clear that growth, rather than just the level of living standards, is key to effecting political and social liberalization in the third world. But he also warns that the democratic values of countries even as wealthy as our own are at risk whenever incomes stagnate for extended periods. Merely being rich is no protection against a society’s retreat into rigidity and intolerance once enough of its citizens lose the sense that they are getting ahead.

Finally, Friedman shows us why, if America is to strengthen democratic institutions around the world as a bulwark against terrorism and social unrest, we must aggressively pursue growth at home and promote worldwide economic expansion beyond what purely market-driven forces would create. And for the United States, he offers concrete suggestions for policy steps to achieve those objectives.

A major contribution to the ongoing debate on the effects of economic growth and globalization.

“This book reminds us all of a truly important moral issue–the likely effects of economic growth or stagnation on society’s tolerance, its fairness, and its democratic values. Ben Friedman establishes yet again why he is one of America’s best economists.”

Peter G. Peterson, chairman, Council on Foreign Relations

“This powerful book achieves the rare feat of transforming economics into a social science. Friedman’s argument is both convincing and fascinating to read.”

Peter L. Bernstein, author of Against the Gods

“Reading this book is an experience in discovering meaning in our economic lives. Friedman insightfully connects our sense of moral purpose with the business activities that figure so largely in our everyday endeavors. A fascinating view of world history.”

Robert J. Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance

“Friedman’s book renews the proud tradition of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments. He provides a stunning, comprehensive view of economic growth and proposes a positive outlook of its moral consequences. Debatable, yes, but an argument one has to confront in assessing public policy toward globalization and aid to developing countries.”

Daniel Bell, author of The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism

“Friedman demonstrates how economic growth promotes the social, political, and economic well-being of a citizenry, and he refutes the popular myth that economic growth is inconsistent with the development of human liberty and dignity. Fascinating and well documented.”

James J. Heckman, University of Chicago,

2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics

“This splendid book, written on a broad canvas that transcends parochial American concerns, is an important work that draws on insights from history and economics to argue that growth is a friend, not a foe, of prosperity and much else. It is a tour de force.”

Jagdish Bhagwati, author of In Defense of Globalization

Benjamin M. Friedman is the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy and former chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University, where he has taught for more than three decades. His book Day of Reckoning: The Consequences of American Economic Policy Under Reagan and After received the George S. Eccles Prize, awarded annually for excellence in writing about economics. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Review of Books. Most recently he was the 2005 recipient of the John R. Commons Award, presented in recognition of achievements in economics and service to the economics profession. He and his wife, Barbara, and their two sons live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.