Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Lipton Matthews
“Lawrence Mead’s Political Breakdown (2025) is not a book of partisan skirmishing or quick diagnoses. It is instead a cultural meditation on why the United States, a society that once seemed uniquely dynamic, confident, and cohesive, now struggles to maintain the very norms that powered its rise. For Mead, the story of American decline is not simply about inequality, polarization, or stagnant wages, though these are real enough. It is about the erosion of the ethic of individualism that once held the society together. The United States — unlike many other nations — thrived because it demanded that its citizens take responsibility for themselves. … The problem today, Mead insists, is that these norms no longer command the same authority. What was once a shared cultural foundation has fractured, and the resulting void has left Americans unable to sustain progress or govern themselves effectively.” (10/27/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/recognizing-roots-current-us-political-turmoil