Tim McCarthy & BGF | Blog

Book of the Month - "What Then Must We Do” by Gar Alperovitz

Written by Tim McCarthy | Jan 5, 2014 3:12:00 PM

Editor’s comment: Warning to my conservative friends: This book can be interpreted as an attack on American capitalism! I realized that only a few pages in, and almost threw the book away. But I remembered one time when my daughter made me go to a Michael Moore movie by saying, “Dad, even if you’re appalled by it, you should open your mind to it.” So onward I pushed and though it’s been a tough read, there are enough nuggets in it to consider. I'm learning that I’m probably a fiscal conservative but a social liberal but in any event, I’m appalled by the growing polarization of wealth in America. Somewhere in between socialism that I fear and the untethered free enterprise that’s not working is the most interesting to me.

Favorite excerpt: “Even the very conservative Texas and Alaska have examples of 'democratized ownership' in their 'Texas Permanent School Funds' and Alaska Permanent Fund.'”