Abstract
In Abundance, the journalists and political commentators Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson investigate why America in the 21st century seems to struggle to execute plans and build housing, high-speed rail, and clean energy. They offer a critique of how liberals, meaning those on the political left, have governed over the past fifty years and the opportunities now open to them for reform. Their proposal is “a politics of abundance,” which in their view would overcome scarcity and lead to “more homes and more energy, more cures and more construction” (p. 222).
Klein and Thompson state their main idea in the introduction: “to have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need” (p. 4). This thesis is presented in the book’s five chapters, each of which examines a different domain in which the authors contend that the United States is failing to deliver material progress at the scale required. The authors move from housing and infrastructure to energy, biotechnology, and broader perspectives on government capacity, showing how they identify cases of policy paralysis and misaligned incentives that have constrained growth.
In Chapter 1 (“Grow”), Klein and Thompson examine housing and zoning rules since the 1970s. They argue that zoning has been used primarily to preserve neighborhood character and protect the property values of existing homeowners, with the effect of restricting new growth. In their account, these constraints on supply have driven housing costs upward and reduced availability, creating the conditions under which homelessness becomes more likely. The chapter uses examples such as the application of zoning, and state and federal environmental protection laws, aiming at showing how these cumulative restrictions have made it increasingly difficult for cities to add the housing they need. Klein and Thompson attempt to describe how, more broadly, large-scale public building became harder as layers of regulation and procedural requirements accumulated over time, reducing the government’s ability to construct major projects at the scale it once did.
In Chapter 2 (“Build”), the authors turn to what they see as America’s infrastructural stagnation. They describe how expanding green electricity is central to fighting climate change, noting that in the United States, 60 percent of the electricity generated in 2022 came from fossil fuels. Using examples such as California’s high-speed rail project, they highlight the paradox that the United States spends more money on infrastructure per project than other nations, yet manages to build far less. Klein and Thompson also illustrate how permitting processes, environmental reviews, and layers of intergovernmental authority generate long delays and exploding budgets. As they put it, “America is unusually legalistic” (p. 92). They argue that these systems, designed with good intentions, have evolved into a structure that prevents even broadly supported projects, such as housing and transportation projects, from moving forward. Achieving an abundant future, they suggest, will require rethinking how the country approves and manages major construction.
In Chapter 3 (“Govern”), the focus shifts from specific sectors to the structure and capacity of the American state. Klein and Thompson argue that “liberalism has become obsessed with procedure rather than outcomes; it seeks legitimacy through rule-following rather than through the enactment of the public’s will” (p. 112). The “everything bagel liberalism” (p. 113) approach, they suggest, fails because effective governance requires focus and reduction, not accumulation. To illustrate how governance could work differently, they describe the rapid reconstruction of the collapsed I-95 bridge in Pennsylvania. Under Governor Josh Shapiro, the state acted quickly by coordinating agencies, streamlining approvals, and concentrating authority on a single, concrete mission: reopening the highway as fast as possible. The project was completed far sooner than expected, demonstrating, for Klein and Thompson, that when political leadership prioritizes outcomes and agencies are empowered to act, government can deliver major public works effectively. They use this example to contrast with the patterns of fragmentation and proceduralism they see as limiting American state capacity. They argue that government “needs to justify itself not through the rules it follows but through the outcomes it delivers” (p. 128).
In Chapter 4 (“Invent”), Klein and Thompson turn to scientific and technological innovation as a pillar of abundance. They highlight the story of a researcher whose work on mRNA eventually became central to the COVID-19 vaccines, using this case to show how breakthroughs often emerge from long and uncertain research paths. They argue that the United States must reform its funding systems so that research of this kind can be pursued more easily, and that a system oriented toward boldness and experimentation is essential when the stakes are high.
In the final chapter (“Deploy”), Klein and Thompson bring together the book’s themes by focusing on the challenge of scaling successful innovations – not just inventing them, but delivering them widely and affordably. They contend that the United States remains strong at producing ideas but weak at building systems that turn those ideas into reality, citing the example of the solar industry taking off in China rather than the United States. The problem, they argue, is often not invention but deployment. For Klein and Thompson, achieving a future of “abundance” requires rebuilding the institutional capacity for rapid, large-scale deployment across sectors, from energy to housing to medicine.
In the conclusion, they argue that changing the processes that make building and inventing so hard now requires confrontations with whether the systems liberals have built really reflect the ends they’ve sought. Much that was designed to foster grassroots participation has been captured by incumbents and special interests. (p. 216)
The abundance framework is presented as “a lens, not a list” (p. 215), encouraging reflection rather than prescription. Yet it is also a critique of the right: “The right is abandoning many of its successes to embrace a politics of scarcity. That has left room for liberals to embrace what Republicans have abandoned: a politics of abundance. In fact, there are signs that they already are” (p. 212).
Abundance is not written for the planning community; it is a book aimed at a broad public audience. Yet its arguments inevitably reflect on planning, and many readers may take its critiques to imply that planning has been largely unsuccessful in some of its most fundamental goals – that is, of building affordable housing and delivering infrastructure. The vision of planning based on this book would be to deliver on tangible outcomes based on effective governance, building the systems needed for a thriving society. Klein and Thompson emphasize that their project is “a lens, not a list,” not a set of policy prescriptions but a way of seeing the barriers that prevent the United States from building and inventing at the necessary scale. Their call for a more capable government, and their insistence on optimism, problem-solving, and innovation, offer a relevant and timely provocation.
The book raises important questions about who has the power to construct the future and the role of technology, but the discussion lacks nuance, and the complexities of this seem insufficiently explored. Who ultimately shapes development outcomes in sectors such as construction and real estate? To what extent does local opposition outweigh broader forces such as financialization and corporate influence in housing markets? At times, the book relies on overly broad characterizations and employs a tone that can feel dismissive and overly simplistic. The authors criticize the left for constraining growth while presenting clean energy expansion as a central solution, yet they do not fully engage with political dynamics that undermine such transitions. The book does not fully grapple with the realities of a deeply divided and heterogeneous society, where political conflict shapes not only what gets built but what counts as a public good. Instead, the authors choose to pin the blame on a lack of belief and focus on technological solutions to produce a future built on abundance. They encourage planning and public policy to reduce process and citizen participation, instead focusing on infrastructural projects and advances in technology and science that they surmise will result in just and sustainable outcomes.
Abundance offers a diagnosis and arguments for rethinking how the United States builds and governs. In it, the authors’ emphasis on capacity, invention, and deployment provides a valuable direction for future debate. However, the authors’ focus on a critique of “liberals” narrows the scope of the argument. The chapters boil down arguments into palatable policy soundbites, calling for a bold vision of the future in which the government prioritizes ensuring the supply of new solutions. The book presents a set of easy-to-understand arguments in a complex and turbulent time. Yet, the path to effective action remains unclear as the book abruptly ends with few specifics as to how to build the political consensus or abundance that it prescribes.
For planners and planning educators, Abundance offers an accessible discussion and contribution around infrastructure, housing, energy, and government capacity. The book would likely interest readers focused on urban economics, infrastructure, and public policy. While it is not a traditional academic planning text, it could still be valuable in the classroom in undergraduate or master’s-level planning courses as a discussion-oriented reading paired with more scholarly sources that encourage debate about the role of planning, environmental regulations, and citizen participation in infrastructure projects.
