Middle Out

Journalist Michael Tomasky follows a shift underway among progressive economists who are reversing decades of conservative assumptions. They are sketching a different model of capitalism, one designed to spread prosperity widely.

Tomasky explains that in the first half of the twentieth century, the Keynesian view that government spending could drive growth held the upper hand. In the 1970s, conservatives counterattacked. They persuaded much of the public of a few core claims: that only free markets can generate growth, and that taxes and regulation hold it back. Their victory gave rise to what is often called neoliberal economics, which brought rising inequality, a shrinking middle class, and less public investment. For half a century, liberals struggled to push back against it.

Tomasky both recounts this history and reports on the work of today's progressive economists, who draw on extensive historical evidence to challenge neoliberal arguments. According to their research, conservative doctrine lacks a factual basis, and concentrated wealth has been built partly on the exploitation of women, minorities, and people without political power. The alternative he describes, middle-out economics, holds that prosperity grows from a strong middle class, so government has a role in supporting families and communities. He argues that this more just, more equal, and more widely shared form of capitalism could define America's future.