Political Economy

Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History

Name: Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History
Rating: 4.8 (1000 reviews)
Author: Kurt Andersen

Kurt Andersen

27 minAudio9 insights

What you'll learn

•How America’s identity as a land of the new shaped its history and culture
•The cultural and political backlash of the 1970s and the rise of neoliberalism
•The economic and social consequences of deregulation, tax cuts, and weakened labor
•The impact of globalization and automation on American jobs and inequality
•Potential futures shaped by AI and automation and the political choices involved
•The importance of rebalancing power between labor, citizens, and capital
•Strategies for restoring trust in government and embracing pragmatic reform
•The role of nostalgia and cultural attitudes in shaping political economy
•Lessons from other developed countries’ social democracies
•The concept of social wealth and ideas like universal basic income

Who should read this

✓Students of American history and politics
✓Economists and political economists
✓Policy makers and political activists
✓Workers and labor organizers

About this book

A comprehensive analysis of how America’s political economy was deliberately restructured since the 1970s, leading to rising inequality and insecurity, and a call for collective action to build a fairer future.

Did You Know?

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The Powell Memo, a confidential 1971 document, played a crucial role in mobilizing corporate America’s political strategy.

Audio Summary

Section 1

America’s Birthright: The Land of the New and the Promise of Progress

3:45

9 Sections

Preview: America’s Birthright: The Land of the New and the Promise of Progress

Imagine a land where everything is new, where the very idea of 'old' holds little sway and the future beckons with promise. This was America, not just a place but a concept — a land conceived as the New World, a blank canvas for reinvention. From the earliest days, settlers embraced novelty as a defining trait, welcoming new religions like Puritans and Quakers, and later spawning uniquely American faiths and entrepreneurial ventures. This spirit of perpetual newness was not incidental; it was the nation’s very foundation.

As the 18th century gave way to the 19th, the industrial revolution arrived with steam power and mechanization that transformed the nature of work and production. The cotton gin, a marvel of its time, multiplied cotton processing efficiency by twenty or more times, fueling the Southern economy — but also deepening the tragic institution of slavery. Meanwhile, factories began to gather workers into regimented spaces, replacing artisanal independence with wage labor, often under harsh conditions.

Yet, the economy grew rapidly. Cities like Chicago and New York swelled, railroads and telegraph lines stitched the expansive frontier, and the average citizen’s share of wealth began to rise. This growth was not evenly shared — workers' wages often stagnated while capitalists amassed fortunes — but it set the stage for the American social contract, one that would evolve through struggle and reform.

Throughout this era, America’s identity as a land of the new fueled optimism and relentless change. But even as progress surged forward, the seeds of tension were sown — between innovation and exploitation, between the promise of newness and the persistence of inequality. This tension would shape the American experience for centuries to come.

As we move forward, we’ll see how this embrace of the new reached a cultural and economic peak in the 1960s, setting the stage for the profound upheavals and reactions that followed. Let’s journey next into the vibrant, transformative decade when America seemed to be rushing headlong into the future.