The Conscience of a Liberal

By: Paul Krugman

Narrated by: Jason Culp

America emerged from Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal with strong democratic values and broadly shared prosperity. But for the past 30 years, American politics has been dominated by a conservative movement determined to undermine the New Deal's achievements.

Now, the tide may be turning, and in Paul Krugman, the world's most widely read economist and one of its most influential political commentators, charts the way to reform.

Krugman ranges over a century of history and shows that neither the American middle-class nor the baby boomers who grew up in the increasingly oligarchic nation we have become over the past generation evolved naturally. Both were created, to a large extent, by government policies guided by organized political movements.

The Conscience of a Liberal promises to reshape public debate about American social policy and become a touchstone work for an entire generation.

©2007 Paul Krugman (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A compelling historical defense of liberalism and a clarion call for Americans to retake control of their economic destiny." ( Publishers Weekly)

Knocked my socks off

I wasn't an avid reader of Krugman's columns or books, so I didn't realize the treat I was in for. The knowledge and conveyance of history and economics are unparalleled, and the politcal analysis is astute. One of those books where I listen every chance I get until I reach the end. I might even listen to the whole thing again. It's just that good. Solid narrator, too.

Great Book!!!

I never fully realized what a historical anomaly the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s were. Krugman makes the case that those few decades brought us closer to the vision of our founding fathers than any other time in our history: broad consensus, expanding middle class, a flatter society. The past 30 years have seen the pendulum swing back, a return to the Gilded Age, authoritarianism, corporatism, a disappearing middle class, and a highly privileged few. The founders of our country fought their revolution against the authoritarians and oligarchs of their time. We must do the same against ours.

This book is a must read (listen?).

A must for anyone interested in U.S. politics.

Where does The Conscience of a Liberal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Krugman goes beyond economics by placing the current economic issues that plague the U.S. into their historical and political context. Easy to understand but not "dumbed down".

Brilliant economist and political thinker

It's hard to disagree with anything Krugman says. He cites overwhelming evidence that the American dream for the middle class is under attack from the radical right.

Great Book!

Very factual & spot on. Informative & a great listen.
Absolutely spot on in many ways. Highly recommend!

Great

Imagine the best teacher you've ever had. Not the flashy one who thinks he's god's gift to the field or always right. The one who's interesting because he has the quiet confidence of somone who has thought a LOT about a subject and cares passionately about ideas and their effects in the real world. And so he needs you really to understand and consider the points he's making.
Now imagine he's talking to you (well, almost, the narrator is good and not so far off) about something where, if you agree with him, there's a limited time to take concrete steps so that good ideas have the best chance of getting implemented in ways that will make the majority of people's lives a lot better.
If that sounds good, then get this book. Even if you disagree with some of it, unless you're Tom Delay and just want to go around bitch slapping people (or countries) who dare to contradict you, you will still take away a lot.

Deeply researched confirmation of liberal thought

Krugman brings considerable research and detailed history to explain the formation of liberal thought and its results, liabilities, and threats. An excellent performance by Culp. Almost makes you want to take notes!

Good but not very balanced

I like Paul Krugman but this one is a little over the top. He tries to convince that movement conservatives are the root of all evil from wage inequality to global warming, however and enjoyable listen and well presented.

Independent thinkers must hear Krugman

Have you ever disagreed with a liberal? If you have, and have wondered why they don't listen, don't respond to your questions, or simply refuse to give you eye-contact, you must listen to this book to understand why.

Paul Krugman's book shouldn't be called "Conscience of a Liberal" it should be called "Why Movement Conservatives are Nasty People".

I teach economics and this review will not attempt to dispute any of Krugman's unscientific conclusions. Krugman the philosopher - not the economist - wrote this book. He recites some magazine article that someone wrote decades ago and then tells us what that writer meant, and how "code-words" were used to communicate devious messages. Sorry, I didn't get my de-coder ring that year so I didn't get those messages. And, of course, anyone remotely attached to that person is stereotyped as a nasty Movement Conservative.

For example, a decade or so ago some religious figure said something about a "Christian" government. That obviously means all Christians want a Christian Theocracy. How ridiculous. Another example is Krugman's assertion that the U.S.A. does not reward hard work nor does it offer equal opportunity. How does he justify this conclusion? He found that in 1988 eight graders were given a math test. Those who scored in the top quartile in math somehow didn't do as well as those whose parents were in the top quartile of income. Wow, that's certainly conclusive. Tell that to Warren Buffett, or just about any baseball, basketball, or football player, entertainer, or small business owner.

If you met a liberal and he/she thinks you're not a walking, talking clone of Paul Krugman, he/she will immediately stereotype you as a nasty person who isn't worthy of attention. Sorry, that's what I got out of this book.

Brilliant

This is one of those books you should get college credit just for listening to. You may find yourself replaying the chapters again and again in order to fully grasp the concepts. Very well written and presented. The narrator is one of the best I have heard. Overall very interesting information if you agree with the author on everything or not.