, Columnists
Debating American Complacency
Dynamic U.S. traditions are giving way to the comforts of a stagnant status quo. At least that's how one of our columnists sees it.
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In his new book, "The Complacent Class," Bloomberg View columnist Tyler Cowen argues that Americans have abandoned their dynamic traditions for a comfortable status quo. As they move less, start fewer businesses, marry people more like themselves and make lifestyle choices based on algorithms that wall them off from the unfamiliar, Cowen says Americans are creating a nation that is segregated, unequal and stagnant. Cowen's Bloomberg View colleague Noah Smith has some reservations. They discussed the book by email.