Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson envision a future for the U.S. where technology and innovation have reshaped daily life—bringing affordable housing, clean energy, abundant healthy food, and high living standards. This progress has been made possible by diligent and well-informed elected officials who have worked together to remove barriers to effective policy, allowing the government to invest efficiently in previously overlooked sectors of the economy.To achieve this, they propose a shift to what Klein has previously termed “supply-side progressivism”—a more proactive government role in expanding the supply of essential goods and services. For example, rather than merely subsidizing housing costs, this approach prioritizes building more affordable housing to reduce scarcity and lower prices.Central to their argument is an acknowledgment of how we arrived at a point where nearly half of all voters would support a despot. The authors contend that regulatory barriers, particularly those designed to protect the environment and ensure public safety, have inadvertently become obstacles to progress. In his review of the book, Noah Smith, described it this way: “Liberalism—or progressivism, or the left, etc.—has forgotten how to build the things that people want.”

As a result, the government's failure to execute projects efficiently has deepened public distrust in its capabilities, fueling conservative populism. To address this, the authors propose a government that functions more like a venture capitalist—driving innovation through funding and market incentives, particularly in sectors such as clean energy and biotechnology.

I find their perspective compelling because it directly challenges right-wing populism, which is rooted in a scarcity mindset—one that perceives resources as finite and drives exclusionary policies to control their distribution. Instead, they present a hopeful vision of government as a catalyst for abundance—one with the potential to create a more prosperous future.Although some early reviews have criticized the book for lacking specificity, it does present a clear alternative to politics based solely on opposition. By embracing an abundance agenda, the authors present an optimistic and proactive vision for the future—one that can unite people across the political spectrum.

BOOK REVIEW: An “Abundance Agenda” for Government is the Anti-DOGE‍

‍BOOK REVIEW: Abundance (Because Noah Smith’s writing is clear-eyed, well-organized, integrative, and accessible, his newsletter is on my shortlist of go-to sources for economic analysis.)