Why the rich are getting smarter while the poor are being left behind
What explains the growing class divide between the well educated and everybody else? Noted author Brink Lindsey, a senior scholar at the Kauffman Foundation, argues that it's because economic expansion is creating an increasingly complex world in which only a minority with the right knowledge and skills-the right "human capital"-reap the majority of the economic rewards. The complexity of today's economy is not only making these lucky elites richer-it is also making them smarter. As the economy makes ever-greater demands on their minds, the successful are making ever-greater investments in education and other ways of increasing their human capital, expanding their cognitive skills and leading them to still higher levels of success. But unfortunately, even as the rich are securely riding this virtuous cycle, the poor are trapped in a vicious one, as a lack of human capital leads to family breakdown, unemployment, dysfunction, and further erosion of knowledge and skills. In this brief, clear, and forthright eBook original, Lindsey shows how economic growth is creating unprecedented levels of human capital-and suggests how the huge benefits of this development can be spread beyond those who are already enjoying its rewards.
Autorentext
Brink Lindsey is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a consultant for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. He is the author of The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America's Politics and Culture (Collins) and Against the Dead Hand: The Uncertain Struggle for Global Capitalism (Wiley).
Zusammenfassung
Why the rich are getting smarter while the poor are being left behindWhat explains the growing class divide between the well educated and everybody else? Noted author Brink Lindsey, a senior scholar at the Kauffman Foundation, argues that it's because economic expansion is creating an increasingly complex world in which only a minority with the right knowledge and skills-the right "e;human capital"e;-reap the majority of the economic rewards. The complexity of today's economy is not only making these lucky elites richer-it is also making them smarter. As the economy makes ever-greater demands on their minds, the successful are making ever-greater investments in education and other ways of increasing their human capital, expanding their cognitive skills and leading them to still higher levels of success. But unfortunately, even as the rich are securely riding this virtuous cycle, the poor are trapped in a vicious one, as a lack of human capital leads to family breakdown, unemployment, dysfunction, and further erosion of knowledge and skills. In this brief, clear, and forthright eBook original, Lindsey shows how economic growth is creating unprecedented levels of human capital-and suggests how the huge benefits of this development can be spread beyond those who are already enjoying its rewards.
Inhalt
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
One: The Rise of Complexity 6
Two: The Abstract Art of Modern Living 12
Three: Capitalism with a Human Face 23
Four: Class and Consciousness 31
Five: Inequality as a Culture Gap 41
Six: From Convergence to Polarization 55
Seven: Reforming Human Capitalism 71
Eight: What Lies Ahead 98
Notes 117
Index 131