The book 'Abundance' by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is gaining popularity among Australian progressive MPs, including Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who called it a 'ripper'. The book argues for a 'liberalism that builds' to address affordability and infrastructure challenges.
Klein and Thompson's core idea is that to have a better future, we need to build and invent more of what we need. In Australia, Productivity Commission research finds the construction sector builds fewer homes per hour worked than in the 1990s, despite adding over 700,000 jobs. Rules and compliance are blamed for slowing innovation.
Optimism is low: 40% of young Australians doubt a comfortable place to live in the next 12 months, and 72% do not believe a child born today will do better than their parents. Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark notes perceptions of inequality are more important than real inequality.
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh is a convert, having delivered a speech titled 'The Abundance Agenda'. Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood also agrees, calling for a 'growth mindset'. The book serves as a cautionary tale for Labor: failure to deliver results risks eroding trust in government, as seen in the US where trust fell from 77% in 1964 to 22% in 2024.
Australia's challenges are less daunting than America's, but pursuing an abundance agenda requires uncomfortable debate. Klein's quote, 'the clean energy future should be fucking awesome', captures the enthusiasm behind the movement.
