The trouble with abundance

POLITICAL SALVATION FOR US DEMOCRATS LIES IN ACKNOWLEDGING THE REALITY OF SCARCITY

- JEFFREY FRANKEL

AS US PRESIDENT Donald Trump purports to“Make America Great Again” by implementing policies that directly harm the lowerand middle-income Americans who voted for him, US Democrats are attempting to devise an alternative vision that might appeal to workers. Some seem to believe the answer lies in the idea of “abundance”.

This partly reflects the release earlier this year of an eponymous book, written by New York Times commentator Ezra Klein and The Atlantic magazine’s Derek Thompson. While Klein is among my favourite columnists and podcasters, I hesitate to embrace claims that the book represents a “once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting” revelation. And Iam not sure that the term abundance can be translated into an effective political strategy.

To be sure, abundance does satisfy some of the criteria for choosing a compelling political slogan. The word is common enough to be recognisable, but not so common that it fails to stand out. Its connotations are positive and broadly appealing, especially at a time when belt-tightening has become the norm. And it is concise enough to fit on a bumper sticker. Democrats’ embrace of abundance could even function as a kind of admission of past mistakes—essential to any credible strategy at this point.