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We live in an era of unprecedented prosperity. The United States
has created the first mass affluent class in world history, and most of us are
more successful than we ever dreamed we could be. New technologies have given
us extraordinary abilities to communicate and share information, and also godlike
power over nature and ourselves. Yet, individually and collectively, we are divided
about the new economy. Its champions embrace the power of technological capitalism
and the wealth it creates -- they believe it will feed and heal and liberate the
world. Its detractors warn that techno-capitalism creates enormous inequalities,
undermines families and communities, and destroys our most cherished values. How
can we heal this division that runs deep in our society, and in our hearts? How
can we learn to be happy with our success? In The
Virtue of Prosperity, former White House policy analyst Dinesh D'Souza offers
the first in-depth analysis of the spiritual and social crisis that has been spawned
by the new economy and new technologies. Drawing upon original reporting, including
more than a hundred interviews with leading entrepreneurs, scholars, social and
religious activists, and tech tycoons, D'Souza brings to life the heated debate
over how we are all affected by the massive changes under way. D'Souza
creates an unforgettable portrait of some of the movers and visionaries in today's
economy: Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, George Gilder, T.J. Rodgers, and Ted Turner.
But he also digs deep to understand what people who are not in the new economy
vanguard -- scholars, pundits, clergy, ordinary workers -- think and feel about
our new prosperity. He reveals the surprising ways in which old political allegiances
have blurred and elements of the left and the right are uniting in resistance
to the new world celebrated by the techno-utopians. D'Souza
poses the tough questions: By what right does a Web entrepreneur who can't show
a profit accumulate wealth equal to the gross national product of a small country,
while the average person struggles to make ends meet? What do we risk if, using
the power of technology, we extend our life span, select the traits we want in
our children, and control the evolution of our species into the "post-human"?
From the unique perspective of an immigrant, D'Souza explores the premise of the
American dream -- that prosperity will better the human condition. He welcomes
the liberation from necessity and drudgery that technology and affluence bring,
but he argues that they cannot solve the basic human question: What is the significance
of my life? D'Souza will surprise readers across the
political spectrum with his original vision of how we can actually do well while
doing good, and succeed while making society better. He shows how to preserve
nature, strengthen our families and communities and expand our intellectual horizons
in a techno-capitalist world. Ultimately, D'Souza reveals how we can harness the
power of technology and affluence to promote individual fulfillment and the common
good. Dinesh D'Souza, a research scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute, served as senior domestic policy analyst in the White House
from 1987 to 1988. He is the bestselling author of Illiberal Education,
The End of Racism, and Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an
Extraordinary Leader. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and San
Diego. |
