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The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

Product Type: Book

Product Price: $26.99

Manufacturer: Harper

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Description

We tend to view prolonged economic downturns, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Long Depression of the late nineteenth century, in terms of the crisis and pain they cause. But history teaches us that these great crises also represent opportunities to remake our economy and society and to generate whole new eras of economic growth and prosperity. In terms of innovation, invention, and energetic risk taking, these periods of "creative destruction" have been some of the most fertile in history, and the changes they put into motion can set the stage for full-scale recovery.

In The Great Reset, bestselling author and economic development expert Richard Florida provides an engaging and sweeping examination of these previous economic epochs, or "resets." He distills the deep forces that have altered physical and social landscapes and eventually reshaped economies and societies. Looking toward the future, Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and transform virtually every aspect of our lives—from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, to how we shape our cities and regions. Florida shows how these forces, when combined, will spur a fresh era of growth and prosperity, define a new geography of progress, and create surprising opportunities for all of us. Among these forces will be

We've weathered tough times before. They are a necessary part of economic cycles, giving us a chance to clearly see what's working and what's not. Societies can be reborn in such crises, emerging fresh, strong, and refocused. Now is our opportunity to anticipate what that brighter future will look like and to take the steps that will get us there faster.

With his trademark blend of wit, irreverence, and rigorous research and analysis, Florida presents an optimistic and counterintuitive vision of our future, calling into question long-held beliefs about the nature of economic progress and forcing us to reassess our very way of life. He argues convincingly that it's time to turn our efforts—as individuals, as governments, and as a society—to putting the necessary pieces in place for a vibrant, prosperous future.

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-17
Summary: "The highest intelligent probability"

I am afraid that this book is probably the most accurate prediction for our economic social future. He shows how anyone can prosper through the decade by applying innovation. A great map for negotiating through the dark future.

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-08-05
Summary: "A New Yorker sees it differently"

I think Richard Florida has an incredibly idealistic view of New York City where he belives we all enjoy public transportation, live greenly in our small apartments, and take advantage of the fabulous jobs and opportunities it offers. Well, I have lived here for over 30 years and see a city that has an exploding population (incredibly more crowded than it was in 1980), yet with less bus and subway service (not uncommon to wait over 30 minutes for a bus), with inflated prices for most things over what you'd pay outside the city, and deteriorating buildings and infrastructure and no funds to fix these things. That doesn't even cover the increase in disease, rats, bed bugs, the poor and uninsured, hospital closings, soaring medical costs, and jobs that pay substantially less than they did just a few years ago.

Yes, we have fabulous culture, universities and diversity but many people are finding that the cost outweighs the experience; that crowds can easily turn into angry nutcases; and often "it isn't worth the battle" for even a free concert or show because of the hassle involved. (Too many people trying to take advantage of these opportunities.)

The cost of renting now surpasses what most people can afford. In addition, who wouldn't prefer to live where they have their own washers and dryers (usually not allowed in apartments), to have building owners that care about upkeep and fix things properly, to have real closet space and storage, and not to have to lug (or as NYers say, "schlep") stuff like a pack animal everywhere. Living outside the city and taking trains in may be the solution, but the cost of that has also increased and there is talk of further increases.

Richard Florida has some good ideas. We do need to change this economy and the reliance this country has on protecting the financial institutions (especially mortgages) at all costs; changing the education system; and allowing more creative control and input from all workers, not just management. But cities -- at least in the condition they are in now -- are not the answer. Getting people out of crowded big cities and redirecting them to smaller, newer, less strained cities may be a better solution. Mr. Florida himself has chosen to leave the U.S. and live in Toronto with a car and a house (something he urges people to give up and rent instead). He has established his business in Canada in the last few years. In the last chapter he writes that it will probably take decades for these changes to establish themselves. In the meantime, I'd just say, think long and hard before spending your money to move to New York City.

Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2010-08-04
Summary: "Don't waste your time on this one"

The authors solution for everything is to get rid of your car, become a renter, and move to a mega region like Boston/New York City where you can walk to work. Very sappy liberal minded college professor type perspective of the world. The author even claims funding of the National Arts Endowment is what is responsible for the invention of video games and iPod (I suspect the engineers at Apple may have a different opinion). He is all for high speed rail which he says is the solution to all of our mobility woes and will bring back the rustbelt cities. Save your time and money and skip this one.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-03
Summary: "At Last"

Finally someone has written a book that makes sense of our financial, political and cultural shake up. This is the best, most reader friendly guide for the future I've read.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-25
Summary: "Silver lining, but no time soon"

"The Great Reset" is the sociologist and urban studies writer Richard Florida's take on recovering from today's so-called Great Recession. Briefly summarized, this is a hopeful look at periods of economic turmoil and recovery, with the Long Depression of the 1870's and the Great Depression of the 1930's being case studies, as incubators of technological and management creativity and as facilitators of necessary changes in economic structures. The book is accessible, easy, and for the most part compelling reading, occasionally provocative, an interesting source of factoids, and as a generalized broad history of recovery from the bottoms of economic cycles it's a useful template. The book is tinged with an underlying idealism that at times is worthy of a hustling consultant or a spirited motivational speaker. While not having read any of Florida's previous books, reviews and references read in the past lead me to see The Great Reset as the latest extension of his ongoing thesis and academic exploration, that of looking at demographic patterns of the "creative class" and extrapolating future trends and urban developments.

Florida's view as presented here is one of long term optimism and new opportunities, but for the medium term it does not whitewash any of the current challenges. Looking at those challenges he writes, "Results, however, take time. If the past is any guide, they are complex processes that unfold over two or three generations". So as optimistic and hopeful as his overall perspective is, for many today, such as the 45 year old laid off manufacturing worker, 18 year old high school graduate ready to work hard, 22 year old college graduate ready to engage with the world, or 65 year old retirees hoping that their assets will grow to match their later needs, his thesis for the most part provides limited hope for the positive outcomes that would have reasonably been expected in the prior three decades. The gap between the bottom of the cycle and his regenerative and robust future will have many victims. Bluntly put, he says "You don't need to strain too hard to see the financial crisis as the death knell for a debt-ridden, overconsuming, underproducing American empire".

With discussions of economic megaregions, the demise of the "old suburban way of life", retraining of workers, the need for mobility and extensive relocation unencumbered by underwater homes, and infrastructure necessities like a commitment to high speed rail, Florida relentlessly looks forward. He writes, "The whole approach of throwing billions of public dollars at the old economy is shortsighted, aimed at restoring the collective comfort level. Government spending can't be the solution long term". Those are sound observations that even knee jerk conservatives would like to hear, but at the same time Florida confronts our division of wealth societal challenge as he says, "Cheap mortgages, cheap car leases, and the use of homes as veritable ATMs created ficticious living standards for the middle class and the bulk of the population at a time of low productivity and paltry growth in income, when the bulk of gains in wealth was scooped up by the top fraction of households". He quotes "Financial Times" writer Ben Funnell's description of this, "Excessive lending was the only way to maintain living standards of the vast bulk of the population at a time when wealth was being concentrated in the hands of the elite". That hypothesis gives an impression that someone was actually in control of what happened, which is questionable as the great American marketing machine and financial oligopolies just steamrolled with enthusiastic blindness through the last two decades. That, however, does not detract from the validity of his to the point observation.

There are a few weaknesses to the book that, while not especially damaging, marginally undercut the impact of his arguments. For one, Florida is definitely not a finance guy. His financial insight is limited to generally accepted wisdom, or at times cliches, of the causes of the financial debacle. For a book that aims to tackle head on big economic issues, it's unfortunate that it contains some misconceptions, annoying generalizations, and a few outright inaccuracies about what transpired. As previously suggested, some of the language is vague and idealistic with jumbles of high sounding buzz words put together into meaningless paragraphs as in, "Today's shrinking cities advocates... recognize how globalization and market forces work against some older communities and sensibly suggest that such places would be better served by proactively managing the process of transformation and adjustment by devising strategies to enable those communities to improve their quality of life and realign with the new economic and fiscal realities". Walk down Main Street with its many abandoned storefronts in my hometown of Danville, Virginia and try saying that mouthful with much conviction.

Florida's hopes are huge and his intentions good. When he writes that, "My greatest hope is that the current Reset can help us fashion a new commitment to work and enable every single person to do work that he or she enjoys, that pays well, and is truly motivating", his idealism is on full display. Who would not want that goal, however much beyond our reach. The preface to Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward", the classic 1887 utopian novel, begins with an excerpt from a Robert Browning poem:

"We ask to put forth just our strength, our human strength,
All starting fairly, all equiped alike...
But when full roused, each giant limb awake,
Each sinew strong, the great heart pulsing fast,
He shall start up and stand on his own earth,
Then shall his long triumphant march begin,
Thence shall his being date."

Practical suggestions, useful observations, historical insight, and a paean to human creativity aside, Florida's longer term vision is in that tradition.