Are you optimistic about America's future?
Arthur C. Brooks | Commentary
November 02, 2011

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  • Are you pessimistic about America's future? Bring America back with free enterprise @arthurbrooks

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  • Is America going down the wrong path? There's still time to correct course, writes @arthurbrooks

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  • free enterprise advocates must argue the moral case for the system they love @arthurbrooks

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In an author's symposium for the November edition of Commentary magazine, Brooks responded to the question "Are You Optimistic or Pessimistic About America’s Future?" by arguing that, while the country may currently be on the wrong trajectory, there is still time to correct course. To bring America back to the path that leads to flourishing, free enterprise advocates must abandon their traditional arguments about material efficiency and make the moral case for the system they love. Only when Americans understand that the free enterprise system uniquely allows individuals to pursue their happiness will the government pass the necessary reforms that allow an opportunity society to thrive.

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Arthur C. Brooks is president of AEI

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About the Author

 

Arthur C.
Brooks

  • Arthur C. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI.) He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise at AEI.

    Immediately before joining AEI, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship.

    Brooks is the author of 10 books and hundreds of articles on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness, and the morality of free enterprise. His latest book, “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise” (2012) was a New York Times bestseller. Among his earlier books are “Gross National Happiness” (2008), “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008), and “Who Really Cares” (2006). Before pursuing his work in public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain.

    Brooks is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows and has been published widely in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

    Brooks has a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in policy analysis from RAND Graduate School. He also holds an M.A. in economics from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in economics from Thomas Edison State College.


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