The Future of Success
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3.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
If you think it’s getting harder to both make a living and make a life, economist and former secretary of labor Robert Reich agrees with you. Americans may be earning more than ever before, but we’re paying a steep price: we’re working longer, seeing our families less, and our communities are fragmenting.
With the clarity and insight that are his hallmarks, Reich delineates what success has come to mean in our time. He demonstrates that although we have more choices as consumers, and investors, the choices themselves are undermining the rest of our lives. It is getting harder for people to be confident of what they will be earning next year, or even next month. At the same time, our society is splitting into socially stratified enclaves--the wealthier walled off and gated, the poorer isolated and ignored. Although the trends he discusses are powerful, they are not irreversible, and Reich makes provocative suggestions for how we might create a more balanced society and more satisfying lives. Some of his ideas may surprise you; all should spark a healthy–and essential–national debate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
From his dual perspective as former Clinton administration secretary of labor and academic social scientist, Reich (bestselling author of Locked in the Cabinet) offers a knowledgeable overview of the pros and cons of today's economy for the average worker. New ways of doing business spurred by digital technology, he states, have led to "eye-popping deals and bargains, opportunities never dreamed of--exactly what you want, from anywhere, at the best price and value" for consumers. At the same time, the ease with which potential buyers can switch to any better new deal puts all producers under intense competitive pressure. Reich argues that the choice between innovation or death that producers now face has filtered down to workers in the form of reduced loyalty from employers and sharply curtailed retirement and fringe benefits. Those who suspect that they are working harder over longer hours will find confirmation here that they are in good company, as well as a keen analysis of the impact of our new working arrangements on marriages, children and how we enjoy our lives. Then Reich pops the $1 million question: Would we willingly accede to the new demands of the workplace if we fully appreciated the consequences for our family lives? Sensing a growing dissatisfaction across the nation, Reich offers tantalizing proposals for moderating the more disruptive influences that have arrived along with the blessings of the emerging economy.
