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Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson: Why a Politics of Building Could Break America’s Scarcity Trap (Hardcover, March 18, 2025)

ByInnoVirtuoso

What if America isn’t stuck because we lack ideas—but because we stopped building? That’s the provocation at the heart of Abundance, the highly anticipated book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. It’s not another wonk manifesto or doom spiral. It’s a clear-eyed, hopeful case for a politics that makes more of the things people actually need: housing, clean energy, infrastructure, skilled workers, and the state capacity to deliver.

If you’ve felt the pinch of rising rents, stalled projects, or a growing sense that everything takes too long and costs too much, this book is aimed squarely at you. Abundance asks a hard question with an optimistic answer: Can we rebuild our ability to build?

What “Abundance” Is Really About

Abundance is a diagnosis and a prescription. Klein and Thompson argue that America has drifted into a scarcity mindset—politically, economically, and culturally. We can spot every risk, hold infinite hearings, and write encyclopedias of rules, but we struggle to say yes to what matters. The result: too few homes, too little clean energy, too many stalled projects, not enough workers.

Here’s why that matters. When we don’t build, we end up rationing by price and by delay. Housing becomes a bidding war. Immigration backlogs leave employers short-staffed. Transmission lines for renewables sit in interconnection queues for years. Ambition gets smaller. The book’s core claim is simple and bracing: abundance—making more of the essential goods and services that expand human freedom—is a moral and practical project.

If you want the hardcover details or to pre-order, Check it on Amazon.

How Scarcity Became the Default

Let me explain how we got here. Many of the rules that slow progress were designed for good reasons. In the 1970s, the U.S. built hard-won checks on pollution, corruption, and bulldozer urban renewal. But over time, those protections calcified. Processes meant to weigh trade-offs often became veto points. Our capacity to critique grew; our capacity to deliver withered.

  • Environmental review can be vital and lifesaving—no one wants to go back to rivers catching fire—but when processes stretch for years and cover routine projects, the system tips into paralysis. For a primer on how review works, see the Environmental Protection Agency’s overview of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
  • Local zoning and discretionary approvals have limited housing supply in high-opportunity places, pushing prices up and people out. For context, the Brookings Institution lays out why supply lags demand in many metros and how reforms help: Why hasn’t housing supply kept up with demand?
  • Clean energy is booming in proposals but crawling in deployment. The International Energy Agency shows the scale of the challenge; we need more generation, more storage, and much more transmission: IEA World Energy Outlook. A major choke point is the grid interconnection backlog; researchers at Berkeley Lab track it here: Electricity Markets & Policy—Queue Tracker.

Klein and Thompson aren’t arguing to bulldoze safeguards. They’re arguing to update them for this century’s risks: climate change, affordability, and stagnation. The question becomes: How do we keep good rules, while recovering the will and capacity to build?

The Abundance Agenda: Build More of What Matters

The book sketches a program that cuts across ideology. In plain terms: make the essential scarce things abundant.

  • Housing: Legalize more homes where people want to live. Think by-right approvals, mid-rise apartments near transit, accessory dwelling units, and predictable timelines. California’s ADU reforms are one example of policy translating to new supply; the Terner Center at UC Berkeley tracks these trends: ADU research and policy.
  • Clean energy and infrastructure: Accelerate permitting for low-carbon projects, invest in transmission, and stand up the boring-but-crucial institutions that can deliver on long timelines. See the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council for policy scaffolding: Permitting Council.
  • People: Expand legal immigration and make it easier to match skills to jobs. America’s labor force needs more builders, nurses, engineers, and technicians. Pew Research has a helpful snapshot of immigrants in the U.S. labor force: Pew Research Center.
  • State capacity: Modernize procurement, digitize services, hire technologists, and measure outcomes. A capable state is the hidden infrastructure of abundance.

Curious to read the full argument and see the case studies firsthand? Shop on Amazon.

Why This Isn’t Just “Build, Baby, Build”

It’s easy to caricature abundance as simple deregulation or construction at any cost. That’s not the book’s point. Abundance is a values framework: growth that expands freedom and opportunity, while respecting environmental limits and community voice.

Three principles recur:

1) Speed with safeguards. Fast, fair, and final decisions beat infinite limbo. Time is a cost, especially for climate action and affordability.

2) Yes in My Backyard, with benefits. YIMBY isn’t about ignoring locals; it’s about setting rules that balance local concerns with regional needs and then sticking to them. The Urban Institute explains what YIMBY can mean for affordability: Urban Institute on YIMBY.

3) Build institutions, not just projects. Lasting abundance relies on competent agencies, predictable processes, and public trust. If people see projects delivered on time and on budget, they’ll say yes more often.

Who Should Read This Book (and How to Choose a Format)

If you work in public policy, urban planning, climate tech, real estate, or civic tech, you’ll find a lot to underline. If you’re a journalist or student, it’s a field guide to the politics of building. If you’re a mayor, councilmember, or a community organizer, it offers a playbook for aligning process with outcomes. And if you’re a curious citizen who wants to understand why basic things feel so hard—and what to do about it—this will speak to you.

A few buying tips:

  • Hardcover releases March 18, 2025. Pre-ordering ensures day-one delivery and supports the authors’ first-week push.
  • Audiobook? If previous works are a guide, expect a professional production—useful if you prefer to “read” on your commute.
  • Ebook? Great for highlighting and searching policy frameworks.

To compare formats, delivery dates, and pricing, View on Amazon.

What the Critics Are Saying—and Why It Matters

The early praise isn’t random blurbs. It comes from a mix of policy thinkers and opinion leaders who often disagree on solutions. Fareed Zakaria calls the book “powerful and persuasive.” David Brooks says it “offers a comprehensive indictment of the current problems and a clear path forward,” capturing a mood shift toward action. The Wall Street Journal notes an “abundance movement” rising within Democratic politics. The signal here: this is a cross-partisan conversation with real traction.

Context helps. In 2021, Ezra Klein wrote about “supply-side progressivism” in The New York Times, arguing for a liberalism that builds—fewer veto points, more green energy and housing, faster timetables, clear metrics, and a bias toward getting to yes. If you want a taste of that argument, here’s his column: Supply-Side Progressivism.

The stakes are real. If we want cheaper housing, we need more homes. If we want decarbonization, we need to build transmission lines and factories. If we want growth with fairness, we need more workers and faster training pathways. Abundance gives that urgency a language and a policy map.

Potential Pitfalls, Answered Honestly

No serious book on building should dodge the downsides. Abundance is strongest when it’s candid about trade-offs:

  • Environmental review: Reform must not become rollback. The aim is smarter, faster reviews with more standardized assessments and earlier community input—not rubber stamps. The EPA’s NEPA framework, updated with categorical exclusions for low-impact projects, is one path.
  • Equity: Faster approvals can still leave out low-income communities if benefits aren’t guaranteed. Solutions include inclusionary zoning, social housing pilots, community land trusts, and construction apprenticeships that create local jobs.
  • NIMBY vs. YIMBY: Local opposition often reflects real fears about displacement and congestion. Clear rules, mitigation funds, and mobility upgrades can make growth feel like a win, not a threat.
  • Megaproject risk: Big projects can blow budgets. The fix is project governance: stage-gate approvals, independent cost reviews, and transparent dashboards. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

If you’d rather judge the ideas yourself than rely on summaries, See price on Amazon.

How to Apply Abundance Thinking Where You Live

Reading is a start. Doing is the goal. Here are practical ways to carry the book’s ideas into your city, company, or campus:

  • Ask for timelines, not just task lists. Every project should have a public Gantt chart and a single accountable owner.
  • Use by-right rules. If a proposal meets the code, it moves forward without discretionary delays.
  • Standardize to speed up. Apply pattern books for housing typologies, standardized contracts, and preapproved components for public works.
  • Pilot, measure, iterate. Launch small; measure outcomes; scale what works. Don’t wait for perfect.
  • Tie approvals to benefits. Link increased density to clear public goods: affordable units, trees, transit passes, or childcare space.
  • Put transmission on the map. Treat grid projects like interstate highways: nationally significant, with expedited timelines and predictable compensation.
  • Expand the talent pool. Fund apprenticeships, fast-track visas for critical skills, and stack credentials at community colleges.

In other words, build a bias toward yes. Every step that replaces uncertainty with clarity accelerates delivery.

What You’ll Learn—Key Ideas That Stick

  • Scarcity is often a policy choice. When rules prioritize process over outcomes, we ration by price and delay.
  • Abundance is a moral project. Cheaper housing, clean energy, and ample public goods expand freedom, dignity, and opportunity.
  • Speed matters. Climate and affordability are time-sensitive; a slow “maybe” is often worse than a fast “no.”
  • Reform isn’t repeal. Keep protections; update processes so good projects can move.
  • State capacity is infrastructure. Without competent agencies and modern tools, even the best plans stall.
  • Coalitions win. YIMBY groups, labor, environmental justice, business, and local government can align around building the right things in the right places.

Ready to dig into the abundance playbook this week? Buy on Amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the core argument of Abundance?
A: Klein and Thompson argue that America’s biggest problems—housing shortages, clean energy delays, worker gaps, and stalled public works—stem from a scarcity mindset and outdated processes. The fix is a politics of building that updates rules, speeds timelines, and grows state capacity to deliver.

Q: Is Abundance just a pro-deregulation book?
A: No. It’s pro‑building, not anti‑regulation. The authors call for smarter, faster, and more predictable rules—especially for low‑carbon projects and much-needed housing—while preserving environmental and community protections.

Q: Who should read this?
A: City and state officials, planners, climate advocates, infrastructure leaders, entrepreneurs, students, journalists, and any citizen frustrated by high costs and slow delivery. It’s useful whether you lean left or right.

Q: Does the book offer concrete policy ideas?
A: Yes. Expect proposals on by-right housing approvals near transit, standardized environmental review for low-impact projects, transmission build‑out, faster immigration pathways for in-demand skills, and investments in public-sector capacity.

Q: How does this relate to “supply-side progressivism”?
A: It builds on that idea: a liberalism focused on making more of the goods and services people need, instead of only redistributing scarcity. See Ezra Klein’s earlier articulation in the New York Times: Supply-Side Progressivism.

Q: What about the climate angle?
A: Abundance treats climate as a building challenge: more renewables, more storage, more transmission, faster siting, and better grid planning. The IEA shows why speed and scale are crucial.

Q: Are there examples of reforms that worked?
A: Yes. California’s accessory dwelling unit reforms unlocked tens of thousands of new small homes; several states have legalized duplexes or missing-middle housing; federal permitting reforms are underway; and cities are piloting faster, standardized approvals.

The Bottom Line

Abundance isn’t a vibe. It’s a governing agenda. Klein and Thompson invite us to stop treating delay as virtue and scarcity as destiny. The path forward is not reckless speed, but responsible speed: clear rules, capable institutions, and the will to build the housing, energy, and infrastructure that a fair and thriving society requires. If you care about affordability, climate, or simple competence, this is the conversation to join.

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InnoVirtuoso

Hello there! I'm passionate content writer navigating the digital landscape. With a deep love for words and an insatiable curiosity about technology.

With 10 years of experience in IT field, I write mostly about emerging tech, sharing news, informational articles and covering other topics I find interesting.

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