Dec 10 2024 54 mins 11
Midway through his eighth year in office, President Bill Clinton kicked off a White House conference on the "new economy." The internet age was underway, unemployment was low, inflation was dormant, the stock market boomed, major industries had been deregulated, and Congress was preparing to pass a big trade deal with China. The future seemed so bright as Americans enjoyed the longest economic expansion in the country's history. The "new economy" cheerleaders did not foresee the working-class discontent that now defines American capitalism in the Age of Trump. In this episode, historian Nelson Lichtenstein delves into the illusions and missteps that hollowed out the working class.
Further reading:
A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism by Nelson Lichtenstein
Why Bidenomics Did Not Deliver at the Polls by Dani Rodrik (Project Syndicate)
The Decline of Union Hall Politics by Michael Kazin (Dissent)
