From the bestselling author of What's the Matter With Kansas, a scathing look at the standard-bearers of liberal politics -- a book that asks: what's the matter with Democrats?It is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course.But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party. Drawing on years of research and first-hand reporting, Frank points out that the Democrats have done little to advance traditional liberal goals: expanding opportunity, fighting for social justice, and ensuring that workers get a fair deal. Indeed, they have scarcely dented the free-market consensus at all. This is not for lack of opportunity: Democrats have occupied the White House for sixteen of the last twenty-four years, and yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated. Wall Street gets its bailouts, wages keep falling, and the free-trade deals keep coming.With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, Frank's Listen, Liberal lays bare the essence of the Democratic Party's philosophy and how it has changed over the years. A form of corporate and cultural elitism has largely eclipsed the party's old working-class commitment, he finds. For certain favored groups, this has meant prosperity. But for the nation as a whole, it is a one-way ticket into the abyss of inequality. In this critical election year, Frank recalls the Democrats to their historic goals-the only way to reverse the ever-deepening rift between the rich and the poor in America.**ReviewPraise for Thomas Frank’s Pity the Billionaire“A spirited, acerbic, stylish exploration of the Republican resurrection.”
―The Boston Globe“A feisty and galvanizing book.”
―San Francisco Chronicle“Frank’s wit is as sharp as ever.”
―The Washington PostPraise for The Wrecking Crew“Glorious . . . brilliant . . . leavened by an eye for the unexpected and the absurd.”
―Los Angeles Times“Frank combines two things absent from most liberal commentary: muckraking reporting and satiric wit.”
―The New York Times Book ReviewPraise for What’s the Matter with Kansas?“Scathing and high-spirited.”
―The New Yorker“Dazzlingly insightful.”
―Chicago Tribune“The year’s most prescient political book.”
―Frank Rich, The New York TimesAbout the Author
Thomas Frank is the author of Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What's the Matter with Kansas? A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler. He lives outside Washington, D.C.
―The Boston Globe“A feisty and galvanizing book.”
―San Francisco Chronicle“Frank’s wit is as sharp as ever.”
―The Washington PostPraise for The Wrecking Crew“Glorious . . . brilliant . . . leavened by an eye for the unexpected and the absurd.”
―Los Angeles Times“Frank combines two things absent from most liberal commentary: muckraking reporting and satiric wit.”
―The New York Times Book ReviewPraise for What’s the Matter with Kansas?“Scathing and high-spirited.”
―The New Yorker“Dazzlingly insightful.”
―Chicago Tribune“The year’s most prescient political book.”
―Frank Rich, The New York TimesAbout the Author
Thomas Frank is the author of Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What's the Matter with Kansas? A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler. He lives outside Washington, D.C.