{"product_id":"the-good-life-and-its-robert-samuelson-9780679781523","title":"The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement","description":"A New York Times Business Book Bestseller \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shrewd and optimistic. . . . [\u003ci\u003eThe Good Life and Its Discontents\u003c\/i\u003e] combines first-rate analysis with persuasive historical, political and sociological insights.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToday Americans are wealthier, healthier, and live longer than at any previous time in our history. As a society, we have never had it so good. Yet, paradoxically, many of us have never felt so bad. For, as Robert J. Samuelson observes in this visionary book, our country suffers from a national sense of entitlement--a feeling that someone, whether Big Business or Big Government, should guarantee us secure jobs, rising living standards, social harmony, and personal fulfillment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Good Life and Its Discontents\u003c\/i\u003e, Samuelson, a national columnist for \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, links our rising expectations with our belief in a post-Cold War vision of an American utopia. Using history, economics, and psychology, he exposes the hubris of economists and corporate managers and indicts a government that promises too much to too many constituencies. Like David Reisman's \u003ci\u003eThe Lonely Crowd\u003c\/i\u003e and John Kenneth Galbraith's \u003ci\u003eThe Affluent Society\u003c\/i\u003e, the result is a book that defines its time--and that is sure to shape the national debate for years to come. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A smart, balanced epitaph for an era--with a few clues for what's ahead.\" --\u003ci\u003eBusiness Week\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Lucid [and] nonsectarian . . . Samuelson traces how the reasonable demand for progress has given way to the excessive demand for perfection.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert J. Samuelson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0679781528\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780679781523\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/30\/1997\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.87lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.14h x 5.18w x 0.83d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/25\/1997","brand":"Robert J. Samuelson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43925579530495,"sku":"9780679781523","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_51864a7f-ab5a-4343-ac25-4d56b128661e.jpg?v=1681078110","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-good-life-and-its-robert-samuelson-9780679781523","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}