Nicholas Eberstadt

As the US
approaches its 250th anniversary, American discontent bubbles beneath the
impending celebrations. Less confident in their own institutions and
increasingly dissatisfied with their country’s international commitments,
Americans are venting their frustration both at home and abroad.

Yet this
disaffection rumbles at the same time the US has achieved unparalleled wealth
and unmatched global power. Why the disconnect?

In this landmark
volume, Nicholas Eberstadt answers that pressing question. Drawing on decades
of extraordinary scholarship, he lays out the nation’s “human arithmetic” in
demographic, social, and economic terms.

He demonstrates
that 21st-century America, for all its marvels and blessings, is nonetheless
beset by a “New Misery”: the practical and moral dilemmas of wealth in the
absence of well-being. New social afflictions hide in plain sight—among them
the astonishing flight of millions of men from the workforce and the surge in
criminality, with over 20 million former felons living in our midst. 

In America’s
Human Arithmetic, Eberstadt
offers a compelling and frightening diagnosis of modern social dysfunction. He
shows that the United States’ best years may yet be to come—but not if
Americans are unwilling to face the challenges their human arithmetic lays
bare.

AEI Press

America's Human Arithmetic: Essential Essays from Nicholas Eberstadt, Volume 2

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