Why 'Abundance' Matters

Shared ideas are valuable, even if they're geeky

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people,” goes the quote often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt¹.

I might use slightly more self-deprecating language: normal people discuss people and events; weird nerds (myself included) talk about ideas.

Two months into Donald Trump’s second term, most of America is talking either about people (Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, Elon Musk) or about events (this week: Signal and Greenland).

I was one of 1,687 hopeless nerds at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco Thursday night excited to hear the discussion of an idea. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson were in town to speak about Abundance on stage with fellow author Michael Pollan.

That crowd — along with thousands of others who have made Klein and Thompson’s new book the #3 best-selling nonfiction book on Amazon — are (great minds or not) eager for a compelling idea.

Abundance outlines a wide-ranging vision for a future filled with clean energy, abundant transportation, economic opportunity and security, healthy and delicious food, and excellent healthcare for everyone. The book focuses on ways in which well-intentioned government policies slow down progress of all types. If government can shift from its current process-centered approach to an outcome-centered approach, a better, abundant future will be possible.

How is progress impeded today? Klein and Thompson assert that the most important cities can’t grow because of zoning policies. Building major infrastructure like clean energy and high speed rail is slow and expensive because of “everything bagel” approaches that prioritize secondary goals (specific labor policies, helping local small businesses) over core project goals. Governing effectively is de-prioritized relative to political coalition management. Research and new scientific and technological approaches are stymied by a desire to focus on process rather than outcomes.

Abundance’s arguments are not new, per se. Klein and Thompson have both been writing and speaking about these issues for years. The Abundance Network, Why Nothing Works, and Recoding America — among many others — have offered constructive insights on how and why government has become less effective in recent decades.

However, the book has crystallized the definition of the term Abundance and a corresponding movement. Abundance seeks “more homes and more energy, more cures and more construction” as part of “a liberalism that builds.”

At a moment where Democrats are struggling to define themselves positively and proactively, that crystallized vision is immensely valuable.

Is “a liberalism that builds” ever going to appeal to masses of Americans? Almost certainly no.

However, the book and its surrounding movement may well influence the next generation of leaders and the policy they push for. There is an increasing awareness among those who want government to be successful² that our government is far less effective than it could or should be.

If Abundance grows as an intellectual movement, its tenets will inform a great deal of policy, even if it doesn’t inform a great deal of popular rhetoric.

The next president almost certainly will not be elected because of an Abundant agenda. Presidents are usually elected because of their personal styles, not their ideologies.

The four most iconic presidents of the past half century — Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan — succeeded because of their oratorical skill and charisma, not because of their consistent political stances. Trump’s biggest fans like him most when he bashes both liberals and traditional conservatives. In 2008, Obama generated great enthusiasm from both pragmatic moderates and idealistic progressives. Clinton did all he could to appeal to both sides of the aisle, and Reagan famously courted “Reagan Democrats” who helped him win 49 states in 1984.

Given that, why does Abundance matter? The next Donald Trump is not going to read Abundance. But the next Barack Obama, the next Bill Clinton — and maybe even the next Ronald Reagan — might. And their campaign staffs and policy advisers and cabinet members will likely have read the book, and they’ll understand that an abundant future will require effective, outcome-focused government.

By the time of the 2028 election, Abundance could very well feel like a real ideological movement — even if that movement is overwhelmingly composed of people who spend their Thursday evenings at places like Sydney Goldstein Theater. If the Abundance movement is strong, then there’s a good chance that the next Barack Obama will be informed by Abundance and the difficult (sometimes coalition-breaking) decisions that can lead to positive outcomes.

Thanks to Klein, Thompson, and the giants whose shoulders they stand on, that definition and vision now exist. We are at the beginning.

1. There’s some controversy as to whether this is actually Roosevelt’s quote.

2. I put myself in this category. Today it is mostly falling short.