The zero-sum society : distribution and the possibilities for economic change

Annotation. Written during a period of acute economic stagnation in 1980, The Zero-Sum Society discusses the human implications of economic problem solving. Interpreting macroeconomics as a zero-sum game, Thurow proposes that the American economy will not solve its most trenchant problems-inflation, slow economic growth, the environment-until the political economy can support, in theory and in practice, the idea that certain members of society will have to bear the brunt of taxation and other government-sponsored economic actions. As relevant today as it was twenty years ago, The Zero-Sum Society offers a classic set of recommendations about the best way to balance government stewardship of the economy and the free-market aspirations of upwardly mobile Americans "As relevant today as it was twenty years ago, The Zero-Sum Society shows us how to think about the best way to balance government stewardship of the economy with the free market aspirations of upwardly mobile Americans.". "Interpreting macroeconomics as a zero-sum game, Thurow proposes that the American economy will not solve its trenchant problems - inflation, slow economic growth, the environment - until the political economy can support, in theory and practice, the idea that certain members of society will have to bear the brunt of taxation and other government-sponsored economic actions. The Zero-Sum Society is a piercing analysis of the social implications of economic policy and a classic work of economic problem solving."--BOOK JACKET. The Zero-Sum Society......Page 1 Contents ......Page 4 1. An Economy That No Longer Performs ......Page 8 2. Energy ......Page 31 3. Inflation ......Page 46 4. Slow Economic Growth ......Page 81 5. Environmental Problems ......Page 108 6. Spreading Rules & Regulations ......Page 127 7. Direct Redistributional Issues ......Page 160 8. Solving the Economic Problems of the 1980s ......Page 196 Notes ......Page 220 Index ......Page 226 As relevant today as it was 20 years ago, this volume contains a classic set of recommendations about the best way to balance government stewardship of the economy and the free-market aspirations of upwardly mobile Americans. AFTER DECADES of believing in their economic invulnerability, Americans were jolted by the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo.

A classic in economics from the three-time New York Times best seller