Politicians and pundits are struggling to understand this populist moment. Are a shrinking workforce and a contemptuous, divided culture simply America’s “new normal”? Is free enterprise fundamentally at odds with defending the national interest? Arthur Brooks draws on history and social science to explain these unusual times – and offers a set of strategies, from national policy to personal advice, that we can use to rebuild prosperity and reunite the country.
Arthur C. Brooks, Ph.D. is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He has served as president since January 1, 2009. He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise.
Before joining AEI, Dr. Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Prior to his work in academia and public policy, he spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain.
Dr. Brooks is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the bestselling author of 11 books on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness, and the morality of free enterprise. His latest book is the New York Times bestseller The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America (2015). He has also published dozens of academic journal articles and the textbook Social Entrepreneurship (2008).
Dr. Brooks has a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He also holds an M.A. in economics from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in economics from Thomas Edison State College.
