I am glad the author cites Red Plenty. That is a really excellent book that I think a lot of HN readers would like. It really takes you into frame of mind since

I am glad the author cites Red Plenty. That is a really excellent book that I think a lot of HN readers would like. It really takes you into frame of mind since lost, with poignance and good characters. It is important to note we live in an age of diminished expectations not just for what capitalism can do but for what government can do, too. Thus, I'm not sure if the fact neoliberalism is disappointing actually means we need a new system. Do we need bigger government, than the current trend, in the US? The government is projected to grow quite a lot as is. We spend more and more money on education and health care every year, with disappointing results. Look at the Medicaid experiment in Oregon: Finkelstein et al (2015) find very little positive health impacts. Obamacare has cut the number of uninsured, but I would guess its impact on actual health will turn out to be very mild. Access to health care and spending on health care are not very much correlated with health outcomes, as the more costly health care is based on deliberate obfuscation or sloppy statistics or promises meager gains (e.g., slightly shrinking a tumor) in the first place. Neither charter schools, on average, nor public school reforms seem to have helped close the opportunity gap much. The Iraq/Afghanistan wars cost like $2 trillion. Many of the largest public pension plans around the US do not have enough assets to make ends meet, even counting on delusional 7 percent returns! Prisons exploded, and nobody seems happy with that. That land-use regulation has become baroque and suffocating shakedown is something I don't think I need to convince anyone in the Bay of. The best cars are made in non-union shops (e.g., tesla and all the new southern factories). It is interesting that things generally are moving slowly on all fronts, but I don't think that's necessarily a reason to change course. If you are stuck in a slow left lane of traffic, it doesn't necessarily mean you should get in the right lane.