Derek Thompson

And I thought what we need to solve for this crisis of penumbral scarcity is an abundance agenda. an approach towards solving America's problems that puts abundance first. And Ezra and I have a very focused definition of abundance. We believe, we say in the first page of the book, America needs to build and invent more of the things it needs. We believe that housing is critical.

We believe energy is critical. We talk a lot about science and technology. But we really put government effectiveness at the heart of this. Because one really deep vein of our book is a criticism of where liberalism has gone wrong in the last 50 years, where liberalism has gone from, in the New Deal era, a politics of building things.

We believe energy is critical. We talk a lot about science and technology. But we really put government effectiveness at the heart of this. Because one really deep vein of our book is a criticism of where liberalism has gone wrong in the last 50 years, where liberalism has gone from, in the New Deal era, a politics of building things.

We believe energy is critical. We talk a lot about science and technology. But we really put government effectiveness at the heart of this. Because one really deep vein of our book is a criticism of where liberalism has gone wrong in the last 50 years, where liberalism has gone from, in the New Deal era, a politics of building things.

I mean, FDR and the progressives transformed the physical world, not just with infrastructure projects, but with building roads, the highway system under Dwight Eisenhower. We changed the physical world during the decades, the 1930s to the 1950s. But in the last half century, liberalism has become very good at the politics of blocking rather than the politics of building.

I mean, FDR and the progressives transformed the physical world, not just with infrastructure projects, but with building roads, the highway system under Dwight Eisenhower. We changed the physical world during the decades, the 1930s to the 1950s. But in the last half century, liberalism has become very good at the politics of blocking rather than the politics of building.

I mean, FDR and the progressives transformed the physical world, not just with infrastructure projects, but with building roads, the highway system under Dwight Eisenhower. We changed the physical world during the decades, the 1930s to the 1950s. But in the last half century, liberalism has become very good at the politics of blocking rather than the politics of building.

And if you look at the way that liberals define success in the last few decades, it's often about success defined by how much money you can spend rather than how many things you can actually build. I mean, you look at the fact that, for example, in the book, we have so many examples that California authorizes more than $30 billion to build a high-speed rail system, which basically doesn't exist.

And if you look at the way that liberals define success in the last few decades, it's often about success defined by how much money you can spend rather than how many things you can actually build. I mean, you look at the fact that, for example, in the book, we have so many examples that California authorizes more than $30 billion to build a high-speed rail system, which basically doesn't exist.

And if you look at the way that liberals define success in the last few decades, it's often about success defined by how much money you can spend rather than how many things you can actually build. I mean, you look at the fact that, for example, in the book, we have so many examples that California authorizes more than $30 billion to build a high-speed rail system, which basically doesn't exist.

Just last week, the mayor of Chicago bragged that they spent $11 billion building 10,000 affordable housing units. That's $1.1 million per affordable housing unit. That's absolutely pathetic.

Just last week, the mayor of Chicago bragged that they spent $11 billion building 10,000 affordable housing units. That's $1.1 million per affordable housing unit. That's absolutely pathetic.

Just last week, the mayor of Chicago bragged that they spent $11 billion building 10,000 affordable housing units. That's $1.1 million per affordable housing unit. That's absolutely pathetic.

We have a story in the book about a $1.7 million public toilet built in San Francisco, $1.7 million for a toilet because of all of the rules that get in the way and raise the price of building public infrastructure like public bathrooms in San Francisco and California.

We have a story in the book about a $1.7 million public toilet built in San Francisco, $1.7 million for a toilet because of all of the rules that get in the way and raise the price of building public infrastructure like public bathrooms in San Francisco and California.

We have a story in the book about a $1.7 million public toilet built in San Francisco, $1.7 million for a toilet because of all of the rules that get in the way and raise the price of building public infrastructure like public bathrooms in San Francisco and California.

So liberalism, I'm worried over the last 50 years, has become so good at the politics of blocking and the politics of associating the money authorized as success rather than what you build in the physical world that we've lost sense of material abundance, of how important outcomes are and not just processes.

So liberalism, I'm worried over the last 50 years, has become so good at the politics of blocking and the politics of associating the money authorized as success rather than what you build in the physical world that we've lost sense of material abundance, of how important outcomes are and not just processes.

So liberalism, I'm worried over the last 50 years, has become so good at the politics of blocking and the politics of associating the money authorized as success rather than what you build in the physical world that we've lost sense of material abundance, of how important outcomes are and not just processes.

And so this is a book that's trying to nudge the Democratic Party back to what we think are, in a way, historically its roots. thinking about what Americans need and making it easier for government to act efficiently to provide them. And that really does, I think, begin with housing and energy.