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The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an Age of Techno-Affluence
In The Virtue of Prosperity, Dinesh D'Souza examines the spiritual and social crisis spawned by the new economy and new technologies of the last ten years. D'Souza questions the basic premise of the American dream that prosperity and "progress" will better the human condition. Anchored in history, rich in anecdote, and supported by state-of-the-art data, The Virtue of Prosperity is a tough-minded critique of our high-tech culture, with a surprising prescription for doing well and doing good.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Dinesh D'Souza
47Ìýbooks891ÌýfollowersDinesh D’Souza is a political commentator, bestselling author, filmmaker and a former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, Dinesh D'Souza graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1983. He served as John M. Olin Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. D'Souza writes primarily about Christianity, patriotism and American politics.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 22, 2017
Published in 2000, interesting to enter some notes here in 2017, because the rapid technological changes even in 17 years have brought D'Souza's question, "Do we want to use known technology to invent the post-human" into new light (though he should change "known technology" to "unknown").
D'Souza sees risk in going from a mass middle class to a mass affluent class.
Schumpeter warned of the "gale of creative destruction" in both economic and social terms, and was worried about the latter.
One way the rich subsidize the poor is that they buy really expensive new things prior to mass production and price reduction, so those items can be produced at first.
"Capitalism civilizes greed" - it creates a system to prevent appropriation and organize distribution
Capitalism has succeeded over religion in part due to the philosophers - Machiavelli and Hobbes gave up on making people good, Adam Smith explained that private gain can lead to the public welfare, Bacon glorified the man of science, Locke argued for property rights.
D'Souza sees risk in going from a mass middle class to a mass affluent class.
Schumpeter warned of the "gale of creative destruction" in both economic and social terms, and was worried about the latter.
One way the rich subsidize the poor is that they buy really expensive new things prior to mass production and price reduction, so those items can be produced at first.
"Capitalism civilizes greed" - it creates a system to prevent appropriation and organize distribution
Capitalism has succeeded over religion in part due to the philosophers - Machiavelli and Hobbes gave up on making people good, Adam Smith explained that private gain can lead to the public welfare, Bacon glorified the man of science, Locke argued for property rights.
May 30, 2022
I'm pretty sure this is my first D'Souza book, but I really enjoyed it. If nothing else, he is an excellent writer and this book will make you think. Written around the turn of the millenium, parts of the book are dated but most of it is truer than ever today. The author covers both sides of the debate over affluence in today's new society, and what its implications are.
I picked this up because it was quoted so often in another book I recently read, The Good of Affluence. In my opinion, this is a much better book because of the author's skill in writing. The chapter titled 'Eye of the Needle' about the moral implications of affluence was especially helpful.
Highly recommend this one to anyone living in America today, the land of the techno-affluent. The author's argument that we are better off than anyone in history and what that means is more true today than ever before, but he also tackles some huge problems inherent in the system, including relative inequality, moral proximity, and ethical issues surrounding new technologies. Will definitely return to this one again, highly recommended.
I picked this up because it was quoted so often in another book I recently read, The Good of Affluence. In my opinion, this is a much better book because of the author's skill in writing. The chapter titled 'Eye of the Needle' about the moral implications of affluence was especially helpful.
Highly recommend this one to anyone living in America today, the land of the techno-affluent. The author's argument that we are better off than anyone in history and what that means is more true today than ever before, but he also tackles some huge problems inherent in the system, including relative inequality, moral proximity, and ethical issues surrounding new technologies. Will definitely return to this one again, highly recommended.
June 26, 2018
Politics aside, this book was just written at a very low reading level, and struggled with coherency. The ideas could’ve been organized much better. A little editing goes a long way. Might need to hire new ghostwriters 👻
April 26, 2010
Dinesh focuses on a small part of the population when he makes his sweeping generalizations. There is a middle class and underclass that he does not mention. We won't advane to the extent he talks about until this lower class starts to prosper. Certainly there will always be poor but when the average joe/jane is struggling to to get the basics, it doesn't allow them to think about "higher" goals.
November 10, 2009
I can't remember much about this one other than the fact that I agreed with it and liked it.
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November 21, 2009None
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