“The Permanent Problem” is an ongoing series of essays about the challenges of capitalist mass affluence — in particular, how to make it sustainable, and how to translate material plenty into a society where most people can expect, in the words of John Maynard Keynes, to “live wisely and agreeably and well.” The author is Brink Lindsey, a vice president at the Niskanen Center. These essays are adapted and cross-posted from brinklindsey.substack.com.
Essays
What is the permanent problem?
The declining leverage and status of ordinary people
The political marginalization of ordinary people
Loss aversion (by any other name) and the decline of dynamism
The absence of systemic competition
Technological progress vs. diminishing returns
Prospects for a more inclusive capitalism
Fighting in a burning house: The media environment vs. democracy
How mainstream journalism squandered its authority
Democracy’s crisis of legitimacy
The possible relevance of Joseph Tainter
Envisioning the next level: An exercise in definite optimism (part 1)
The next level of rich: An exercise in definite optimism (Part 2)
Rebalancing capitalism: an exercise in definite optimism (Part 3)
Economic independence vs. the alternatives
Choosing the experience machine
Life under and immense and tutelary power
Thoughts on techno-optimistic socialism
The advance of the monoculture
The need for a media temperance movement
Why we need the Jetsons and solarpunk
Speculations on an arc of history
Productivity growth: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Podcast
Beginning in January 2024, Lindsey started the Permanent Problem podcast to supplement his ongoing essay series. The podcast focuses on capitalism’s triple crisis – and especially on the prospects for defusing the crisis and revitalizing social progress.
Reviving capitalist dynamism, with Tyler Cowen
How to create the sci-fi world we were promised, with James Pethokoukis
Rethinking our vision for the future, with Virginia Postrel
Giving gender equality a modern context, with Richard Reeves
Photo credit: iStock