UK Political Book Club - Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Posted by Isabel Liu
August 17, 2025

On Tuesday 30 September we’ll meet on Zoom to discuss Abundance: How We Build a Better Future, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.

Cogent, well-timed ideas for meeting today’s biggest challenges.

20250318 Abundance - Kirkus Reviews

A potent political manifesto . . . Its optimism is also compelling, even joyous. . . . The book’s core lesson, convincingly delivered, is that liberals ought to make it easier to do the things they want to do. . . . A can-do antidote to blue-state malaise.

— Slate

This story of how American originality lost its way is arresting and well told. On an alternate timeline without Donald Trump in office dismantling the American scientific establishment and Elon Musk kneecapping the American state, it might have been the manifesto of a new politics. Still, there could be life after Trump and, if so, “Abundance” might inspire a demoralized Democratic Party to think big again.

20250318 Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again? - New York Times

At 7:30pm we’ll discuss the book for 45 minutes, then discuss current events, finishing at 8:45pm. All are welcome, even if your haven’t read the book. RSVP or contact [email protected] to receive the Zoom link, book discussion questions, and current events newsletter.

Here is more to complement or substitute for reading the book in a way that fits your schedule.

20250303 Do Democrats Need to Learn How to Build? - The New Yorker

20250720 Abundance is not the answer - Los Angeles Review of Books

20250318 Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson on Abundance - Good on Paper - The Atlantic (1hr 23m audio interview)

20250312 Ezra Klein on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (8m video)