The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties

A major American intellectual and "one of the right's most gifted and astute journalists" (The New York Times Book Review) makes the historical case that the reforms of the 1960s—intended to make the nation more just and humane—left many Americans feeling alienated, despised, misled, and ready to put an adventurer in the White House.

The Unforeseen Consequences of the 1960s Reforms

Christopher Caldwell has spent years studying the liberal uprising of the 1960s and its ripple effects. His conclusion is striking:

• Even the reforms that Americans hold most dear have come with staggeringly high costs—in terms of wealth, freedom, and social stability.
• These costs have been unevenly distributed across classes and generations, deepening divides within the nation.

A Roller-Coaster Journey Through the Last 50 Years

Caldwell takes readers on a sweeping exploration of the real political turning points of the past half-century. Along the way, he weaves together cultural and societal landmarks, including:

• Playboy magazine
• Affirmative action
• CB radio
• Leveraged buyouts
• iPhones
• Oxycotin
• Black Lives Matter
• Internet cookies

Through these examples, Caldwell reveals how attempts to address past injustices have left Americans divided, living under two different ideas of what it means to play by the rules.

A Timely and Insightful Perspective

Essential, timely, and hard to put down, The Age of Entitlement is described by New York magazine as "an eloquent and bracing book, full of insight." It delves into how the reforms of the past fifty years created two incompatible political systems, driving the country toward conflict.