The ARI Bookshelf Explores Abundance

Podcast audio:

In this episode of The ARI Bookshelf, Onkar Ghate, Tristan de Liège, and Robertas Bakula discuss Abundance, the recent best-selling book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that has gained traction in liberal circles.

Klein and Thompson acknowledge the failings of past liberal policies and present what they call the “abundance agenda” as an alternative. The agenda emphasizes streamlined regulations alongside robust government involvement in production — an approach the authors claim will usher in a new political order.

The discussion covered:

• The book’s central arguments;
• How the “abundance agenda” is unphilosophical and collectivistic;
• How the book’s position on environmentalism reveals its deeper philosophical problems;
• How the book fails to distinguish between coercion and voluntary cooperation;
• How the authors fail to check their premises about government;
• Why the book’s admiration for China is troubling.

The video premiered on May 1, 2025.