Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's influential and best-selling book "Abundance" offers a provocative vision of "supply-side progressivism," focusing on how the progressive agenda created a government that has forgotten how to build solutions rather than merely redistributing money. We'll explore how these authors challenge fellow liberals by arguing that scarcity in housing, energy, and infrastructure results from political choices, not inevitabilities. We’ll consider the proposals offered by the bipartisan "Abundance Caucus" in Congress this book has inspired and naturally debate at length America's priorities.

In the spirit of doing things in a new way, this discussion seminar will encourage participants to use AI to research background material and vet their opinions. We will include a small bit of instruction to help folks get started with chatbots that can search the Web for references. We’ll use these tools to critically examine whether streamlining government processes alone can achieve true abundance. We'll strive to resolve the tension between the authors’ vision and concerns over environmental sustainability, economic inequality, and power concentration.

With this course, we invite you to engage with one of today's most discussed political frameworks, using civilization’s latest knowledge tools, to develop your own perspective on how society might best create "enough of what we need."

— Details —

This course will be 1/3 presentation, 2/3 discussion. Presentations will aim to spark conversation by providing an academic interpretation of the material that includes some historial and economic background on each topic.

The facilitators welcome opinions from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. Their main role will be to identify topics of common interest, guide a balanced discussion of the issues, and foster a respectful exchange of opinions so that everyone enjoys the conversation.

Download slides reviewed in class here (as available):

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