Stubborn Attachments

From a bestselling author and economist, a contemporary moral case for economic growth-and a dose of inspiration and optimism about our future possibilities.

Growth is good. Throughout history, economic growth in particular has alleviated human misery, improved human happiness and opportunity, and lengthened human lives. Wealthier societies are more stable, offer better living standards, produce better medicines, and ensure greater autonomy, greater fulfillment, and more sources of fun. If we want to continue our trend of growth-and the overwhelmingly positive outcomes for societies that come with it-every individual must become more concerned with the welfare of those around us. So how do we proceed?

Tyler Cowen, in a culmination of 20 years of thinking and research, provides a roadmap for moving forward. In Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals, he argues that our reason and common sense can help free us of the faulty ideas that hold us back as people and as a society, allowing us to set our sights on the long-term struggles that maximize sustainable economic growth while respecting human rights. Stubborn Attachments, at its heart, makes the contemporary moral case for economic growth, and delivers a great dose of inspiration and optimism about our future possibilities.

Author Biography

Tyler Cowen is a Holbert L. Harris professor of economics at George Mason University and director of the Mercatus Center. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1987. His book The Great Stagnation: How America Ate the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better was a New York Times bestseller. He was named one of the most influential economists of the last decade in an Economist poll and dubbed “America’s hottest economist” by Bloomberg Businessweek. Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of its top 100 global thinkers of 2011. Cowen co-writes a blog called Marginal Revolution, runs a podcast series called Conversations with Tyler, and has cofounded an online economics education project at MRUniversity. He lives in Virginia.