Human Capitalism

How Economic Growth Has Made Us Smarter--and More Unequal

Brink Lindsey

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780691157320
• eBook ISBN:
  9781400846214
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Economic Theory
• Index: Social Sciences

Why the rich are getting smarter while the poor are being left behind

What explains the growing class divide between the well educated and everybody else? Noted author Brink Lindsey, a senior scholar at the Kauffman Foundation, argues that it's because economic expansion is creating an increasingly complex world in which only a minority with the right knowledge and skills—the right "human capital"—reap the majority of the economic rewards. The complexity of today's economy is not only making these lucky elites richer—it is also making them smarter. As the economy makes ever-greater demands on their minds, the successful are making ever-greater investments in education and other ways of increasing their human capital, expanding their cognitive skills and leading them to still higher levels of success. But unfortunately, even as the rich are securely riding this virtuous cycle, the poor are trapped in a vicious one, as a lack of human capital leads to family breakdown, unemployment, dysfunction, and further erosion of knowledge and skills. In this brief, clear, and forthright eBook original, Lindsey shows how economic growth is creating unprecedented levels of human capital—and suggests how the huge benefits of this development can be spread beyond those who are already enjoying its rewards.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• One: The Rise of Complexity
• Two: The Abstract Art of Modern Living
• Three: Capitalism with a Human Face
• Four: Class and Consciousness
• Five: Inequality as a Culture Gap
• Six: From Convergence to Polarization
• Seven: Reforming Human Capitalism
• Eight: What Lies Ahead
• Notes
• Index