Edward Glaeser reviews the book Growth: A History and a Reckoning by Daniel Susskind

See A Bigger Economy Spelled Victory: The focus on America’s rate of economic expansion took on added urgency once it became the measure of who was winning the Cold War. Excerpts:

"Mr. Susskind then turns to the benefits of growth, including “unprecedented material prosperity,” which are offset, he suggests, by “a huge price, one whose destructive consequences we do not yet fully understand.” Climate change is allegedly part of that “huge price.” Yet we have decades of evidence documenting an Environmental Kuznets Curve, in which environmental harm first rises, then falls, with national wealth. While carbon emissions would have been lower if our economies had remained in some dismal preindustrial morass, the Kuznets curve implies that already-wealthy countries will become cleaner as they grow."

"Benjamin Friedman’s “The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth” (2005) presented centuries of evidence supporting the view that “economic growth—meaning a rising standard of living for the clear majority of citizens—more often than not fosters greater opportunity, tolerance of diversity, social mobility, commitment to fairness, and dedication to democracy.”"

"Mr. Susskind is also keen on expanding total R&D spending and on directing that spending toward innovation that protects the environment and creates jobs. I share both objectives, but good intentions often lead to hellish policies, and Mr. Susskind’s policy proposals are murky. I agree with him strongly if he means supporting a carbon tax (which he does mention and which will encourage environmental innovation) and making the tax-and-benefit system more pro-employment, perhaps by reducing the payroll tax for the poorest workers. But if he means vast funding to support the Solyndras of the future, I am less sanguine."