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Abundance
By Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Table of Contents
About The Book
From bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough.
Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next generation’s problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished.
Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough.
Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next generation’s problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished.
Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.
Reading Group Guide
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ABUNDANCE
Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
This reading group guide for Abundance includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough. Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next generation’s problems.
Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. In the introduction, the authors draw a distinction between ideological disagreement and ideological collusion. What are these concepts, and how do they differ? Why do the authors find the former misleading, and why do they think the latter is a more accurate diagnosis for the problems facing American political governance?
2. “To have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need. That’s it. That’s the thesis. It reads, even to us, as too simple” (page 4). In the conclusion, the authors revisit this theme of simplicity: “Abundance reorients politics around a fresh provocation: Can we solve our problems with supply? Many valuable questions bloom from this deceptively simple prompt” (page 219). Why does a simple thesis raise eyebrows? Think about why the authors are writing this book. How might the adoption of a simple thesis, as opposed to a complex one, serve their aims?
3. Pay attention to the sources that are referenced throughout this book. What kinds of training and credentials do their authors have, and what kinds of methodologies do they use? Describe the way the authors of Abundance bring them into conversation with one another.
4. The authors try to disprove some commonly held assumptions about the causes of homelessness. What are these assumptions? Who benefits from their existence?
5. How do people use zoning to preserve community character and how does this tactic depart from the preexisting ways people used to curate community? (Think about the authors’ discussion on page 27 of the ecosystems of talent that are located within some cities, such as New York).
7. On page 102 the authors claim that “The government is a plural posing as a singular.” What key government players and factions feature in this book? Identify a few types of conflicts that exist between different groups within the government. Why do they exist?
8. In chapter 3 the authors claim, “The big government–small government divide is often more a matter of sentiment than substance” (page 105). Define these two words, “sentiment” and “substance.” What does the substitution of substance with sentiment reveal about the specific way in which American politics is changing? What are some spaces where politics might find itself today in America that it would not have occupied a few decades ago?
9. To illustrate America’s supply-side problems, the authors spend much of the first half of the book discussing housing affordability. Why do you think they make housing their case study of choice?
10. In chapter 4 the authors raise some problems besetting America’s technology companies and other research and development organizations. Why is it important for them to approach this section through a historical lens? What would they overlook if they only described the way those organizations operate today?
11. One of the authors’ major contentions is that the policies and procedures we adopt in one generation are central to the problems that we face in the next. The authors state in their conclusion, “Political movements succeed when they build a vision of the future that is imbued with the virtues of the past” (page 221). Discuss some of the ways people conceive of the past as it figures in politics. Why might political groups struggle to act consistently across generations?
12. Where do discussions like the ones in this book take place today? Who are the loudest pundits? Who is missing from them? How does your experience change when reading this conversation in a book as opposed to having it in person?
13. Did you have any reservations about the points the authors make? Are there any comparable books you’ve read to this one that offer a different perspective?
14. Notice the centrality of “choice” in this book. For instance, the authors state that crises often create periods of greater efficiency and innovation, but we first choose what we consider to be a crisis. Who makes these choices? Do you feel like you have the ability to participate in that process?
15. Share some of the ways you are personally affected by the problems outlined in this book. Has your perspective on them changed?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. The year is 2035 and the world has implemented most of the proposals Abundance raises. Now, it is up to you to write the follow-up. How might the world have changed, and what concerns would you still have?
3. Split off into small groups. Take one domain each (think: technology, education, political governance, arts, and more) and describe, with as much detail as possible, how it would ideally change within 5-, 10-, and 20-year increments. Share your thoughts with the group
Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
This reading group guide for Abundance includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough. Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next generation’s problems.
Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. In the introduction, the authors draw a distinction between ideological disagreement and ideological collusion. What are these concepts, and how do they differ? Why do the authors find the former misleading, and why do they think the latter is a more accurate diagnosis for the problems facing American political governance?
2. “To have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need. That’s it. That’s the thesis. It reads, even to us, as too simple” (page 4). In the conclusion, the authors revisit this theme of simplicity: “Abundance reorients politics around a fresh provocation: Can we solve our problems with supply? Many valuable questions bloom from this deceptively simple prompt” (page 219). Why does a simple thesis raise eyebrows? Think about why the authors are writing this book. How might the adoption of a simple thesis, as opposed to a complex one, serve their aims?
3. Pay attention to the sources that are referenced throughout this book. What kinds of training and credentials do their authors have, and what kinds of methodologies do they use? Describe the way the authors of Abundance bring them into conversation with one another.
4. The authors try to disprove some commonly held assumptions about the causes of homelessness. What are these assumptions? Who benefits from their existence?
5. How do people use zoning to preserve community character and how does this tactic depart from the preexisting ways people used to curate community? (Think about the authors’ discussion on page 27 of the ecosystems of talent that are located within some cities, such as New York).
7. On page 102 the authors claim that “The government is a plural posing as a singular.” What key government players and factions feature in this book? Identify a few types of conflicts that exist between different groups within the government. Why do they exist?
8. In chapter 3 the authors claim, “The big government–small government divide is often more a matter of sentiment than substance” (page 105). Define these two words, “sentiment” and “substance.” What does the substitution of substance with sentiment reveal about the specific way in which American politics is changing? What are some spaces where politics might find itself today in America that it would not have occupied a few decades ago?
9. To illustrate America’s supply-side problems, the authors spend much of the first half of the book discussing housing affordability. Why do you think they make housing their case study of choice?
10. In chapter 4 the authors raise some problems besetting America’s technology companies and other research and development organizations. Why is it important for them to approach this section through a historical lens? What would they overlook if they only described the way those organizations operate today?
11. One of the authors’ major contentions is that the policies and procedures we adopt in one generation are central to the problems that we face in the next. The authors state in their conclusion, “Political movements succeed when they build a vision of the future that is imbued with the virtues of the past” (page 221). Discuss some of the ways people conceive of the past as it figures in politics. Why might political groups struggle to act consistently across generations?
12. Where do discussions like the ones in this book take place today? Who are the loudest pundits? Who is missing from them? How does your experience change when reading this conversation in a book as opposed to having it in person?
13. Did you have any reservations about the points the authors make? Are there any comparable books you’ve read to this one that offer a different perspective?
14. Notice the centrality of “choice” in this book. For instance, the authors state that crises often create periods of greater efficiency and innovation, but we first choose what we consider to be a crisis. Who makes these choices? Do you feel like you have the ability to participate in that process?
15. Share some of the ways you are personally affected by the problems outlined in this book. Has your perspective on them changed?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. The year is 2035 and the world has implemented most of the proposals Abundance raises. Now, it is up to you to write the follow-up. How might the world have changed, and what concerns would you still have?
3. Split off into small groups. Take one domain each (think: technology, education, political governance, arts, and more) and describe, with as much detail as possible, how it would ideally change within 5-, 10-, and 20-year increments. Share your thoughts with the group
About The Authors
Lucas Foglia
Ezra Klein is an opinion columnist and host of the award-winning Ezra Klein Show podcast at The New York Times. He is the author of Why We’re Polarized, an instant New York Times bestseller, named one of Barack Obama’s top books of 2022. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Shaughn and John, Inc
Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the host of the podcast Plain English. He is the author of the national bestseller Hit Makers and On Work, an anthology of his writing on labor and technology. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Product Details
- Publisher: Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (March 18, 2025)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668023488
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Raves and Reviews
“Spectacular . . . Offers a comprehensive indictment of the current problems and a clear path forward . . . Klein and Thompson usher in a mood shift. They inspire hope and enlarge the imagination by describing the good things that are actually within our grasp: abundant energy, cheaper housing, affordable cities, shorter workweeks, lab-grown meat so that we no longer have to use 25 percent of global land to raise livestock.” —David Brooks, New York Times Opinion
“Ambitious . . . Klein and Thompson want a ‘liberalism that builds,’ not just in housing and green energy but in artificial intelligence and in drug development, too, areas where they see similar patterns of stagnation. Their goals are broad. This group of policies, which they call the abundance agenda, offers, Klein and Thompson believe, ‘a path out of the morass we’re in. A new political order’ . . . Abundance is a fair-minded book, and it recognizes some of the trade-offs that come with redesigning government for dynamism.” —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker
“A potent political manifesto . . . Its optimism is also compelling, even joyous. . . . The book’s core lesson, convincingly delivered, is that liberals ought to make it easier to do the things they want to do. . . . A can-do antidote to blue-state malaise . . . The timing of Abundance is extraordinary.” —Slate
“Helping liberals get out of their own way . . . It’s time to scrutinize everything from municipal zoning regulations to the paperwork requirements for scientists getting federal funding. The authors’ debut as a duo is very smart and eminently useful. Cogent, well-timed ideas for meeting today’s biggest challenges.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson want you to hold space to dream about utopia. No need to tighten the belt, they argue: We have everything we need to build the future that liberals want, clean energy and affordable housing included, today! Their book explains how.” —New York Times
“A forceful, quick-moving broadside against the left-coded pathologies they see as standing in the way. . . . Klein and Thompson’s diagnosis gets much right. . . . A worthy read.” —Financial Times
PRAISE FOR WHY WE’RE POLARIZED BY EZRA KLEIN
“Polarization is the story of American politics today. It affects almost every aspect of American political life and has been studied by scholars from many different angles, with dozens of good historical and experimental approaches. Wouldn’t it be great if someone would digest all these studies, synthesize them and produce a readable book that makes sense of it all? Ezra Klein has done just that with his compelling new work, Why We’re Polarized. . . . Powerful [and] intelligent.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN
"Why We’re Polarized delivers. . . . What Klein adds especially to [is] our understanding of how we got here—why Trump is more a vessel for our division than the cause, and why his departure will not provide any magical cure. . . . A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis.” —Norman Ornstein, New York Times Book Review
"Superbly researched and written . . . Why We’re Polarized provides a highly useful guide to this most central of political puzzles, digesting mountains of social science research and presenting it in an engaging form. . . . An overall outstanding volume." —Francis Fukuyama, The Washington Post
"Brilliant and wide-ranging. A book about what just might be our central, perhaps fatal problem. This is the kind of book you find yourself arguing with out loud as you read it and will stick in your head long after you've finished. Absolutely crucial for understanding this perilous moment." —Chris Hayes, host of “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC and author of A Colony in a Nation
“Klein’s careful book explains how different groups of Americans can see politics through such different lenses, examining how various psychological mechanisms allow committed partisans to rationalize almost anything their party does. . . . This book fully displays the attributes that have made Klein’s journalism so successful.” —Dan Hopkins, Washington Post
“Eye-opening . . . Klein’s brilliant diagnosis and prescription provide a path to understanding—and healing.” —O Magazine
“A fascinating book, rich in politics, history, psychology and more.” —David Leonhardt, New York Times
“Well worth reading.” —Andrew Sullivan, New York magazine
PRAISE FOR HIT MAKERS BY DEREK THOMPSON
“Enthralling—full of ‘aha’ moments about why some ideas soar and others never get off the ground. This book picks up where The Tipping Point left off.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again
“A wonderful book . . . While giving Lady Luck her due, Thompson studiously examines the myriad factors that make the things we buy, like, and follow so irresistible: whether Facebook, TV shows such as Seinfeld, Bumble (the app, not the insect), even favorite lullabies. In Hit Makers, his first book, Thompson tackles this mystery with solid research, ready wit, and catchy aphorisms.” —USA Today
“Superb.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN Book of the Week selection
“Hit Makers is thoughtful and thorough, a compelling book. . . . A terrific look at what makes a hit, from the Mona Lisa to Donald Trump.” —Vox
“Fascinating . . . Thompson has huge enthusiasm for his topic and has amassed an amazing amount of material, including many offbeat and engaging stories. . . . [Should] be read for insight and provocation.” —Financial Times
“Derek Thompson has long been one of the brightest new voices in American journalism. With Hit Makers, he becomes one of the brightest new voices in the world of non-fiction books. Ranging from Impressionist art to German lullabies to Game of Thrones, Hit Makers offers a fresh and compelling take on how the media function and how ideas spread. As deftly written as it is keenly argued, this book—true to its title—is a hit.” —Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When
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- Author Photo (jpg): Derek Thompson Shaughn and John, Inc(0.1 MB)
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