WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Beyond Blue Part Three: The Power of Infostructure.

The quest for a new social model has to start with economics. America could survive without growing prosperity and rising standards of living, but it would not flourish — and it would not be living up to its potential to create a better life not only for Americans but for people all over the world. Green dreamers and communitarians disagree, often eloquently but always futilely; the drive for economic prosperity is deeply planted in American politics and society. When the economy isn’t performing well, politicians lose their jobs while the public looks for alternative ideas.

The quest for economic prosperity helped make the blue social model, and the failure of that model to deliver continuing prosperity in contemporary conditions is both a symptom of and a leading reason for its decline.

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