The paradox of progress

by Richard B. McKenzie

Things have never been better - and tomorrow they'll be better still. So argues Richard B. McKenzie in this provocative new book, The Paradox of Progress. Despite all the press stories of lay-offs and stagnant wages, despite all the talk of economic insecurity, says McKenzie, Americans have never lived so well, or had so many opportunities. The question, he writes, is not why things aren't better, but why does everyone keep complaining. In The Paradox of Progress, McKenzie demolishes the idea that the nation is in economic decline - and explains why we still feel so insecure. Our perception of decline, he argues, comes from the press, which has long since learned that bad news sells; but he demonstrates how the 1980s - much-maligned by the media - in fact heralded a new age of prosperity and opportunity. Government needs to get out of the way and accept the shift in "economic tectonics." And the message for workers, McKenzie writes, is clear: "Become more productive. Work harder and sm