The Importance of Slow Growth in American Society

The rising intolerance and incivility have been, in significant part, a consequence of the stagnation of American middle-class living standards during much of the last quarter of the 20th century. "Good things noneconomically happen to societies when they experience economic growth that's widely shared," he says. If our growth falters, however, or if we merely continue with slower growth that benefits only a minority of our citizens, the deterioration of American society will, I fear, worsen once more."