It is the economic system, not Congress or presidents, that now effectively decides the terms of the "social contract." Most citizens, though they are intimately affected, have very little to say in the matter.
My subject is American capitalism and how it collides destructively with society and with our deepest human values and aspirations. The subtext is about rearranging power in America. By power, I mean the capacity to participate in the decisions, large and small, that will define our lives, our society and its future -- an entitled voice that is supposed to be everyone's birthright in a political democracy. This book does not dwell on the decay and deformities in America's representative democracy or why most citizens are now deeply skeptical of the political system's regard for them and their views (my previous books covered that ground).
The subject is capitalism, not the dismaying politics we know. Americans know a lot of facts about politics, but only dimly grasp how capitalism actually functions. In the course of explaining things, I also explain its enduring strengths and virtues -- the reasons why it has prevailed over competing economic systems -- and the sources of its pathologies.
William Greider
