“But there are many ways in which America’s quality of life is much worse than one would expect given the nation’s wealth. And we should always remember that economic growth is supposed to be the foundation of a better life. A nation that has high GDP per capita but whose citizens live worse than their counterparts in other countries is not a success story.

And many Americans would, I believe, be angry if they realized how much worse our lives are in many ways than those of our counterparts abroad.

Why are American lives so often nastier, more brutish, and shorter than those of citizens of other advanced nations? That’s a complicated story, but much of it comes down to the fact that US politics has for decades been dominated by a party that is fiercely opposed to any concept of shared responsibility, of caring for our fellow citizens, and that foments a deep level of distrust that makes it ever harder to operate as a society.

As a result, we don’t guarantee healthcare. We underfund public services. We promote private consumption — including driving — while neglecting the provision of public goods. We don’t assure basic health and safety, including for children, which in the long run will make us poorer. It’s not an accident that America began to fall behind other rich countries in many ways around 1980, that is, around the time the election of Ronald Reagan marked a sharp rightward turn in U.S. politics and policy.”

👇👇👇👇👇