Social Democratic America by Lane Kenworthy

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Toward the Good Society:   
An American Path    
    AMERICA IS A very rich nation. And in coming decades we will 
become richer still. Despite our affl uence, however, too few ordi-
nary Americans have adequate economic security, too few who 
grow up in disadvantaged circumstances are able to reach the 
middle class, and too few have seen their boat lifted when the 
economic tide rises. 
 This book is about how we can do better. The problems we con-
front are big ones, but they are not intractable. The key to a solu-
tion? Government social programs. Social programs function as a 
safety net, a springboard, and an escalator: they provide economic 
security, enhance opportunity, and ensure rising living standards. 
Over the past century, we have gradually expanded the size and 
scope of such programs. Given recent economic and social shifts, 
we need to do more. Our history and the experiences of some other 
affl uent nations point us in useful directions, and they suggest we 
can expand government without destroying liberty, breaking the 
bank, or wrecking the economy. 
 Can it happen? The notion that we are likely to further increase 
the size and scope of our social policy may seem blind to the re-
ality of contemporary American politics. After all, some on the left 
of the political spectrum feel America’s safety net is complete, 

many in the center favor cutting public spending to reduce our 
government debt, and many on the right demand lower spending 
and taxes full stop. But step back and consider the long run. The 
lesson of the past 100 years is that as the country gets richer, we 
are willing to spend more in order to safeguard against risk and 
enhance fairness. Advances in social policy come only intermit-
tently, but they do come. And when they come, they usually last.    
      Three Failings   
 From the 1940s to the 1970s, Americans up and down the 
income ladder enjoyed improved economic security, expanding 
opportunity, and steadily rising incomes. But since the 1970s, 
the story has been quite different. Progress has stalled, or even 
reversed. 
 Too many Americans have incomes so low that making ends 
meet is a struggle. Too many experience a sizable income drop at 
some point during their working career. And too many have no 
health insurance or inadequate health insurance. This isn’t just 
a function of the 2008–9 economic crisis and its aftermath. It was 
true before the economy fell apart, and it will still be true once we 
return to our long-run growth path (and after the 2010 healthcare 
reform is fully implemented). 
 In the past half century the United States has made con-
siderable progress in boosting opportunity: most women and 
many African Americans now have a much better chance to 
obtain an advanced education and to thrive in the labor market 
than did their counterparts a generation ago. Yet the story for 
Americans who grow up poor is much less encouraging. Their 
odds of climbing into the middle class, already low, have been 
shrinking. 
 Since the 1970s, the incomes of households in the middle and 
below have risen slowly, despite sustained growth in the economy. 
Income growth has been decoupled from economic growth.

Social Democratic America by Lane Kenworthy