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October 2023 Bestseller Lists
November 22, 2023 by Jane Friedman
In partnership with Bookstat [ https://bookstat.com/ ], we are proud to offer three distinctive monthly bestseller lists.1
Top 50 Self-Published Ebooks
Top 50 Self-Published Print Books (online sales only)
Top 50 Hidden Gems (print, online sales only)
Top 50 Self-Published Ebooks
RankTitleAuthorRelease Date
1Things We Left Behind (Knockemout Book 3)Lucy ScoreSep. 5, 2023
2Cruel Promise (Oryolov Bratva Book 2)Nicole FoxSep. 6, 2023
3Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book 1)H.D. CarltonAug. 12, 2021
4The Broken Vows: Zane and Celeste’s Story (The Windsors)Catharina MauraSep. 29, 2023
5Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout Book 1)Lucy ScoreJan. 13, 2022
6Cruel Paradise (Oryolov Bratva Book 1)Nicole FoxSep. 6, 2023
7Twisted Love: A Grumpy Sunshine RomanceAna HuangApr. 29, 2021
8Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout Book 2)Lucy ScoreFeb. 21, 2023
9Obsession Falls: A Small-Town RomanceClaire KingsleyOct. 12, 2023
10King of Greed: A Billionaire Romance (Kings of Sin Book 3)Ana HuangOct. 24, 2023
11The Coworker: An Addictive Psychological ThrillerFreida McFaddenAug. 29, 2023
12The Wrong Bride: Ares and Raven’s Story (The Windsors)Catharina MauraOct. 15, 2022
13Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book 2)H.D. CarltonJan. 28, 2022
14Highest BidderLauren LandishApr. 12, 2020
15The Ritual: A Dark College RomanceShantel TessierNov. 19, 2021
16Devoted: A Dark Mafia Romance (Beneath the Mask Series Book 3)Luna MasonSep. 30, 2023
17How Does It Feel (Infatuated Fae Book 1)Jeneane O’RileyMar. 1, 2023
18The Locked Door: A Gripping Psychological ThrillerFreida McFaddenJun. 1, 2021
19Devious Lies: A Standalone Enemies-to-Lovers RomanceParker S. HuntingtonDec. 13, 2019
20Madame (Salacious Players’ Club)Sara CateOct. 12, 2023
21The Pucking Wrong Guy: A Hockey Romance (The Pucking Wrong Series Book 2)C.R. JaneSep. 29, 2023
22The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia Book 1)Carissa BroadbentAug. 30, 2022
23Tempted by the Devil (Kings of Mafia)Michelle HeardOct. 19, 2023
24Puck Yes: A Fake Marriage Hockey Romance (My Hockey Romance Book 2)Lauren BlakelyOct. 9, 2023
25Never Lie: An Addictive Psychological ThrillerFreida McFaddenSep. 19, 2022
26Flawless: A Small Town Enemies to Lovers RomanceElsie SilverJun. 24, 2022
27Finally Forever: A Best Friend’s Brother / Fake Dating Romance (The Lasker Brothers)Nadia LeeOct. 20, 2023
28NERO: Alliance Series Book 1S.J. TillyMar. 16, 2023
29Never Fall for the Fake Boyfriend: A Grumpy Sunshine Romance (Never Say Never Book 3)Lauren LandishOct. 17, 2023
30DOM: Alliance Series Book 3S.J. TillySep. 21, 2023
31Cross My Heart: A Spicy Dark Academia Romance (The Oxford Legacy Book 1)Roxy SloaneSep. 7, 2023
32Den of VipersK.A. KnightJul. 10, 2020
33Twisted Games: A Forbidden Royal Bodyguard RomanceAna HuangJul. 29, 2021
34The Florist on Amelia Island (Seven Sisters Book 4)Hope HollowayOct. 6, 2023
35King of Wrath: An Arranged Marriage Romance (Kings of Sin Book 1)Ana HuangOct. 20, 2022
36The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia Book 2)Carissa BroadbentApr. 14, 2023
37Fate of a Royal (Lords of Rathe Book 1)Meagan BrandyJul. 6, 2023
38One By One: An Unputdownable Psychological ThrillerFreida McFaddenJul. 13, 2020
39The Wolf Prince: An Opposites Attract Shifter Romance (The Royals of Presley Acres Book 1)Roxie RaySep. 3, 2023
40The C*ck down the Block (The Cocky Kingmans Book 1)Amy AwardSep. 28, 2023
41The Way I Hate HimMeghan QuinnAug. 1, 2023
42The Alpha’s Fated Encounter: An Opposites Attract Shifter Romance (Fated to Royalty Book 1)Roxie RayOct. 2, 2022
43Distance: A Dark Mafia Romance (Beneath the Mask Series Book 1)Luna MasonMar. 1, 2023
44Does It Hurt?: An Enemies to Lovers RomanceH.D. CarltonJul. 21, 2022
45One Bossy Disaster: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Bossy Seattle Suits)Nicole SnowSep. 18, 2023
46Best FrenemiesMax MonroeSep. 16, 2023
47Carnage: A Dark Revenge RomanceShantel TessierOct. 30, 2023
48Watch Your Mouth (Kings of the Ice)Kandi SteinerOct. 27, 2023
49Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow: A Brother’s Best Friend, Small Town Romance (Time River Book 2)A.L. JacksonOct. 5, 7023
50The Deal (Off-Campus Book 1)Elle KennedyFeb. 24, 2015
Top 50 Self-Published Print Books
RankTitleAuthorRelease Date
1The Shadow Work Journal: A Guide to Integrate and Transcend Your ShadowsKeila ShaheenNov. 2, 2021
2The Lost Book of Herbal RemediesClaude DavisJan. 1, 2019
3Building a Non-Anxious LifeDr. John DelonyOct. 3, 2023
4Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet)H.D. CarltonAug. 13, 2021
5The Lost WaysClaude DavisJan. 1, 2016
6Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet)H.D. CarltonJan. 25, 2022
7The Inner Work: An Invitation to True Freedom and Lasting HappinessMathew MichelettiMay. 3, 2019
8NO GRID Survival ProjectsClaude DavisDec. 1, 2021
9Never LieFreida McFaddenSep. 15, 2022
10A Little SPOT of Emotion 8 Plush Toys with Feelings Book Box SetDiane AlberJul. 10, 2021
11Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the PresentNick TrentonMar. 1, 2021
12A Little SPOT of Emotion 8 Book Box Set (Books 1–8)Diane AlberMay. 15, 2020
13Livingood Daily: Your 21-Day Guide to Experience Real HealthDr. LivingoodDec. 24, 2017
14Caught Up (Windy City Series Book 3)Liz TomfordeOct. 7, 2023
15The LSAT Trainer: A Remarkable Self-Study Guide for the Self-Driven StudentMike KimMay. 17, 2022
16Rich Dad Poor DadRobert T. KiyosakiApr. 5, 2022
17$100M Leads: How to Get Strangers to Want to Buy Your StuffAlex HormoziAug. 30, 2023
18The Holistic Guide to Wellness: Herbal Protocols for Common AilmentsNicole ApelianMar. 20, 2023
19The Survival Medicine Handbook: The Essential Guide for When Help Is NOT on the WayJoseph Alton, MDAug. 24, 2021
20The Forager’s Guide to Wild FoodsNicole ApelianSep. 10, 2023
21The Holistic Guide to Wellness: Herbal Protocols for Common AilmentsNicole ApelianMar. 20, 2023
22The RitualShantel TessierDec. 1, 2021
23Emotional Intelligence 2.0Travis BradberryJun. 16, 2009
24Project 369: The Key to the UniverseDavid KasneciSep. 21, 2020
25SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever PublishedMike BarrettJul. 1, 2017
26CarnageShantel TessierOct. 28, 2023
27PMP Exam Prep SimplifiedAndrew RamdayalJan. 4, 2021
28The Simplest Baby Book in the World: The Illustrated, Grab-and-Do Guide for a Healthy, Happy BabyS.M. GrossNov. 16, 2021
29The Mindf*ck SeriesS.T. AbbyApr. 3, 2019
30A Little SPOT of Feelings 8 Book Box Set (Books 25–32)Diane AlberAug. 14, 2021
31The InmateFreida McFaddenJun. 11, 2022
32The Secret Life of SunflowersMarta MolnarJul. 14, 2022
33$100M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying NoAlex HormoziJul. 13, 2021
34Our Little Adventures: Stories Featuring Foundational Language Concepts for Growing MindsTabitha PaigeOct. 20, 2020
35Home Doctor: Practical Medicine for Every HouseholdClaude DavisMay. 10, 2021
36The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your GoalsDaniel WalterApr. 8, 2020
37What Should Danny Do? (The Power to Choose 1)Adir LevyMay. 17, 2017
38Meditations: Adapted for the Contemporary ReaderMarcus AureliusNov. 7, 2016
39Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal NutritionLily NicholsFeb. 21, 2018
40Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse, Gaslighting, Codependency and Complex PTSD (4 Books in 1)Linda HillSep. 23, 2022
41Den of VipersK.A. KnightJul. 10, 2020
42Ricky, the Rock That Couldn’t RollMr. JayApr. 18, 2023
43How To Draw 101 Things for Kids: Simple and Easy Drawing Book with Animals, Plants, Sports, Foods, … EverythingsSophia ElizabethOct. 11, 2021
44CredencePenelope DouglasJan. 13, 2020
45Does It Hurt?H.D. CarltonJul. 15, 2022
46Pillars of Wealth: How to Make, Save, and Invest Your Money to Achieve Financial FreedomDavid M. GreeneOct. 17, 2023
47The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal ReserveG. Edward GriffinJan. 1, 2010
48PMP Exam Prep 2023 Exam Ready, 11th EditionMargo Kirwin Rita MulcahyJan. 22, 2023
49Rapid Interpretation of EKGs, Sixth EditionDale DubinNov. 1, 2000
50The Microsoft Office 365 BibleJames HollerDec. 11, 2022
Top 50 Hidden Gems
The Hidden Gems list excludes Big Five publishers, as well as other publishers of significant size (for example, Norton and Scholastic). For October 2023, we’ve excluded test prep guides (such as those from Kaplan), atlases from Rand McNally, National Geographic, the Bible, and blockbuster cartoon compilations from Andrews McMeel (Calvin & Hobbes). We let you know every month what we’ve excluded, or how we’ve changed list compilation.
In cases where the publisher name matches the author name, the book is listed as self-published. Keep in mind that even if a publisher name is listed, it might be self-published. A good example is Keila Shaheen, who has self-published The Shadow Work Journal, but the 2nd edition was released under the name of her business, Zenfulnote.
Update (11/28): A book published by a Penguin Random House imprint, Roc Lit 101, snuck through. It was removed, making room for the last title on this list (#50).
Update (11/29): Rodale is now owned by Penguin Random House, so two of their titles have been removed and two additional titles added to the end.
RankTitleAuthorPublisherRelease Date
1No Brainer (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 18)Jeff KinneyHarry N. AbramsOct. 24, 2023
2The MysteriesBill WattersonAndrews McMeel PublishingOct. 10, 2023
3Upon Waking: 60 Daily Reflections to Discover Ourselves and the God We Were Made ForJackie Hill PerryB&H BooksOct. 3, 2023
4Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse (D&D Campaign Collection)RPG Team WizardsWizards of the CoastOct. 17, 2023
5The Shadow Work Journal: A Guide to Integrate and Transcend Your ShadowsKeila ShaheenSelf-publishedNov. 2, 2021
6The Shadow Work Journal 2nd Edition: A Guide to Integrate and Transcend Your ShadowsKeila ShaheenZenfulnoteFeb. 28, 2023
7Demon Slayer Complete Box Set: Includes Volumes 1–23 with PremiumKoyoharu GotougeVIZ Media LLCNov. 9, 2021
8The Lost Book of Herbal RemediesClaude DavisGlobal BrotherJan. 1, 2019
9The Way Forward (The Inward Trilogy)Yung PuebloAndrews McMeel PublishingOct. 10, 2023
10Food Babe Family: More Than 100 Recipes and Foolproof Strategies to Help Your Kids Fall in Love with Real FoodVani HariHay House Inc.Oct. 17, 2023
11The Leaf Thief: The Perfect Fall Book for Children and ToddlersAlice HemmingSourcebooks JabberwockyAug. 3, 2021
12The Covenant of WaterAbraham VergheseGrove PressMay. 2, 2023
13The Chutney Life: 100 Easy-to-Make Indian-Inspired RecipesPalak PatelAbrams BooksOct. 24, 2023
14Chainsaw Man Box SetTatsuki FujimotoVIZ Media LLCSep. 26, 2023
15A Fire in the FleshJennifer L. ArmentroutBlue Box PressOct. 31, 2023
16My First Library: Box Set of 10 Board Books for KidsWonder House BooksWonder House BooksApr. 25, 2018
17Fast Like a Girl: A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance HormonesDr. Mindy PelzHay House Inc.Dec. 27, 2022
18How to Catch a WitchAlice WalsteadSourcebooks WonderlandAug. 2, 2022
19The Josiah Manifesto: The Ancient Mystery & Guide for the End TimesJonathan CahnFrontlineSep. 5, 2023
20The Great Awakening: Defeating the Globalists and Launching the Next Great RenaissanceAlex JonesSkyhorseOct. 24, 2023
21Ralph Lauren A Way of Living: Home, Design, InspirationRalph LaurenRizzoliSep. 26, 2023
22Chainsaw Man (Vol. 12)Tatsuki FujimotoVIZ Media LLCOct. 3, 2023
23King of Greed (Kings of Sin, Book 3)Ana HuangBloom BooksOct. 24, 2023
24Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks Gift SetDungeons & DragonsWizards of the CoastNov. 20, 2018
25Building a Non-Anxious LifeDr. John DelonyRamsey PressOct. 3, 2023
26Bob Dylan: Mixing up the MedicineMark DavidsonCallawayOct. 24, 2023
27The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence after Sixty YearsPaul LandisChicago Review PressOct. 10, 2023
28Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet)H.D. CarltonSelf-publishedAug. 13, 2021
29Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout)Lucy ScoreBloom BooksJan. 12, 2022
30The Lost WaysClaude DavisCapital PrintingJan. 1, 2016
31Architectural Digest at 100: A Century of StyleArchitectural DigestAbrams BooksOct. 8, 2019
32The Camper and The CounselorJackie OshryGenius Cat BooksOct. 10, 2023
33Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet)H.D. CarltonSelf-publishedJan. 25, 2022
34Tom FordTom FordRizzoliNov. 4, 2008
35Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the OddsDavid GogginsLioncrest PublishingDec. 10, 2018
36Things We Left Behind (Knockemout Series 3)Lucy ScoreBloom BooksSep. 5, 2023
37Out of the Far North (A Nir Tavor Mossad Thriller)Amir TsarfatiTen Peaks PressOct. 3, 2023
38Hopeless: A Chestnut Springs Special EditionElsie SilverElsie Silver Literary Ltd.Oct. 13, 2023
39World of Eric Carle: Around the Farm 30-Button Animal Sound BookEric CarlePI KidsFeb. 2, 2013
40Slim Aarons: The Essential CollectionShawn WaldronAbrams BooksOct. 3, 2023
41The Inner Work: An Invitation to True Freedom and Lasting HappinessMathew MichelettiSelf-publishedMay. 3, 2019
42Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout Series 2)Lucy ScoreBloom BooksFeb. 21, 2023
43The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and HappinessMorgan HouselHarriman HouseSep. 8, 2020
44Rediscovering Israel: A Fresh Look at God’s Story in Its Historical and Cultural ContextsKristi McLellandHarvest House PublishersOct. 3, 2023
45How to Catch a Monster: A Halloween Picture Book for Kids about Conquering Fears!Adam WallaceSourcebooks WonderlandSep. 5, 2017
46Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our DemocracyKash Pramod PatelPost Hill PressSep. 26, 2023
47Deception: The Great Covid Cover-UpRand PaulRegnery PublishingOct. 10, 2023
48NO GRID Survival ProjectsClaude DavisGlobal BrotherDec. 1, 2021
49Berserk Deluxe Volume 1Kentaro MiuraDark Horse MangaMarch 26, 2019
50ATI TEAS Secrets Study Guide: TEAS 7 Prep Book, Six Full-Length Practice TestsMatthew BowlingMometrix Media LLCMarch 6, 2022
Established in 2017, Bookstat tracks ebooks, audiobooks, and print book sales through online retail only. One thing that makes Bookstat unique is that it incorporates ebook subscription sales into its model in addition to a la carte sales. Overall, Bookstat says it captures 90 percent of the ebook market and 62 percent of the print book market. Unlike other sales-tracking services, it reveals what’s happening in the self-publishing market. ↩︎
CategoriesHot Sheet Bestseller List
© 2023 The Hot Sheet • Built with GeneratePress
URL
https://hotsheetpub.com/2023/11/october-2023-bestseller-lists/
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MLK jr again
he said it more than once
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King of Dead Horses Ring
coloring page
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/The-King-Of-Dead-Horses-Ring-b-w-997831321
adoptable page
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/The-King-Of-Dead-Horses-Ring-adoptable-997831587 -
Title: the healing realm
Artist: Lisa Tillman Pritchard < https://www.etsy.com/shop/ltpartllc1/ , https://www.tiktok.com/@ltpartllc>Prior post
https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2529&type=status
Lisa Tillman Pritchard post
https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=lisa%20tillman%20pritchard&type=core_statuses_status&quick=1&author=richardmurray&search_and_or=and&sortby=newest -
Title: Serenity - set
Artist: Lisa Tillman Pritchard < https://www.etsy.com/shop/ltpartllc1/ , https://www.tiktok.com/@ltpartllc>Prior post
https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2527&type=status
Lisa Tillman Pritchard post
https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=lisa%20tillman%20pritchard&type=core_statuses_status&quick=1&author=richardmurray&search_and_or=and&sortby=newest -
Title: ascension
Artist: GDbee < https://gdbee.store/ > aka Prinnay
Prior posthttps://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2522&type=status
GDBee Post
https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=gdbee&type=core_statuses_status&quick=1&author=richardmurray&search_and_or=or&sortby=newest -
Title: all time favorite plus size pieces
Artist: Lisa Tillman Pritchard < https://www.etsy.com/shop/ltpartllc1/ , https://www.tiktok.com/@ltpartllc>Prior post
https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2521&type=status
Lisa Tillman Pritchard post
https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=lisa%20tillman%20pritchard&type=core_statuses_status&quick=1&author=richardmurray&search_and_or=and&sortby=newest -
My R&A - response and articles
I start with the title. One of the problems with the USA is the lie that the UA is a united place with a united peoples. In his own article he successfully proves how tribal the usa is.
But, the word isn't abandoned. The federal government of the USA in different times gambled and all the gambles failed to return what was needed to secure tomorrow.
The Federal government of the usa gambled: it could build up financial rivals [ england/germany/spain/italy/france/korea/japan/china/india/israel ] to create intergovernmental organizations centered on the usa while maintain a financial dominance as when world war two ended, it could make laws adding races into the usa while merging races to each other and the races will embrace each other positively based on a love of the state, it could grant the fiscal operators [shareholders/owners/bankers] full leeway and their fiscal desire will create untold wealth for all.
All the gambles failed to reach why they were made.
The rivals were given a black check plus resources to reboot absent the challenge of starting from the bottom while not having a need to pay for military expenditures but the usa economy wasn't able to stay on top across the board.
All races in the usa [women/blacks/muslims/lesbians] have a financially prosperous one percent, but most communities have only grown their fiscal poor who live tribally from other fiscal poor people, and with ever growing resentment.
The business sector protected itself and positioned itself to be secure regardless of its failure or quality, ala all the industries in the usa that have collapsed in the usa at an ever increasing ratio, but didn't lift up all peoples in the usa.
But the key is, all three gambles could had worked. What was the errors.
The usa funneled welfare checks and money on a simple condition to rivals in foreign countries who guaranteed to be yesmen for intergovernmental organizations totally allegiant to the usa but didn't use their unearned advantage to make the international organizations have more quality. The rivals loved the international organizations to make profit and have controls over weaker governments or former dominions but to actually improve other countries, a kind of pay it forward, europe/japan/china/india/israel didn't do, even though they were given an advantage by the usa in the way they don't give others.
Yes, blacks/native americans/lesbians/women/muslims/asians and all other groups in the usa that didn't have opportunity or potency have members in each group who financially have prospered because the federal laws forced financially wealthy white/male/christian/hetero/european people to share to those not them, but those who were granted opportunity haven't improved their communities and have simply joined financially wealthy white men creating three tiers of tribalism between the many have nots plus between the have nots side the have's plus between the many haves. While the usa keeps adding more peoples into the fiscally poor populace, growing violent sentiments.
Giving the financial community in the usa carte blanche saved it from its own mismanagement which is a betrayal of free market capitalism, but the financially community in the usa no matter how many times it is saved keeps being mismanaged and now relies on the military power of the usa side the intergovernmental organizations mandatory for the bureaucracy to work absent more violence to maintain a cycle of mismanagement from us business and bailouts from the federal government.
The article is correct, the FDR era ended with Reagan, the Reagan era is ending. Biden is trying to guide it somewhere but I see biden more as a jimmy carter, the last fdr president than ronald reagan, the president who started a new era. The problem with Biden in a general way is his centrism. Centrism at its heart is status quo, maintaining the bureaucracy, but the problem is the bureaucracy isn't fitting the populace it governs and requires radical change to do so
Why America Abandoned the Greatest Economy in History
Was the country’s turn toward free-market fundamentalism driven by race, class, or something else? Yes.
By Rogé Karma
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Barry James Gilmour / Getty; Kean Collection / Getty; Library of Congress / Getty.
NOVEMBER 25, 2023, 6:30 AM ET
If there is one statistic that best captures the transformation of the American economy over the past half century, it may be this: Of Americans born in 1940, 92 percent went on to earn more than their parents; among those born in 1980, just 50 percent did. Over the course of a few decades, the chances of achieving the American dream went from a near-guarantee to a coin flip.
What happened?
One answer is that American voters abandoned the system that worked for their grandparents. From the 1940s through the ’70s, sometimes called the New Deal era, U.S. law and policy were engineered to ensure strong unions, high taxes on the rich, huge public investments, and an expanding social safety net. Inequality shrank as the economy boomed. But by the end of that period, the economy was faltering, and voters turned against the postwar consensus. Ronald Reagan took office promising to restore growth by paring back government, slashing taxes on the rich and corporations, and gutting business regulations and antitrust enforcement. The idea, famously, was that a rising tide would lift all boats. Instead, inequality soared while living standards stagnated and life expectancy fell behind that of peer countries. No other advanced economy pivoted quite as sharply to free-market economics as the United States, and none experienced as sharp a reversal in income, mobility, and public-health trends as America did. Today, a child born in Norway or the United Kingdom has a far better chance of outearning their parents than one born in the U.S.
This story has been extensively documented. But a nagging puzzle remains. Why did America abandon the New Deal so decisively? And why did so many voters and politicians embrace the free-market consensus that replaced it?
Since 2016, policy makers, scholars, and journalists have been scrambling to answer those questions as they seek to make sense of the rise of Donald Trump—who declared, in 2015, “The American dream is dead”—and the seething discontent in American life. Three main theories have emerged, each with its own account of how we got here and what it might take to change course. One theory holds that the story is fundamentally about the white backlash to civil-rights legislation. Another pins more blame on the Democratic Party’s cultural elitism. And the third focuses on the role of global crises beyond any political party’s control. Each theory is incomplete on its own. Taken together, they go a long way toward making sense of the political and economic uncertainty we’re living through.
"The american landscape was once graced with resplendent public swimming pools, some big enough to hold thousands of swimmers at a time,” writes Heather McGee, the former president of the think tank Demos, in her 2021 book, The Sum of Us. In many places, however, the pools were also whites-only. Then came desegregation. Rather than open up the pools to their Black neighbors, white communities decided to simply close them for everyone. For McGhee, that is a microcosm of the changes to America’s political economy over the past half century: White Americans were willing to make their own lives materially worse rather than share public goods with Black Americans.
From the 1930s until the late ’60s, Democrats dominated national politics. They used their power to pass sweeping progressive legislation that transformed the American economy. But their coalition, which included southern Dixiecrats as well as northern liberals, fractured after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” exploited that rift and changed the electoral map. Since then, no Democratic presidential candidate has won a majority of the white vote.
Crucially, the civil-rights revolution also changed white Americans’ economic attitudes. In 1956, 65 percent of white people said they believed the government ought to guarantee a job to anyone who wanted one and to provide a minimum standard of living. By 1964, that number had sunk to 35 percent. Ronald Reagan eventually channeled that backlash into a free-market message by casting high taxes and generous social programs as funneling money from hardworking (white) Americans to undeserving (Black) “welfare queens.” In this telling, which has become popular on the left, Democrats are the tragic heroes. The mid-century economy was built on racial suppression and torn apart by racial progress. Economic inequality was the price liberals paid to do what was right on race.
The New York Times writer David Leonhardt is less inclined to let liberals off the hook. His new book, Ours Was the Shining Future, contends that the fracturing of the New Deal coalition was about more than race. Through the ’50s, the left was rooted in a broad working-class movement focused on material interests. But at the turn of the ’60s, a New Left emerged that was dominated by well-off college students. These activists were less concerned with economic demands than issues like nuclear disarmament, women’s rights, and the war in Vietnam. Their methods were not those of institutional politics but civil disobedience and protest. The rise of the New Left, Leonhardt argues, accelerated the exodus of white working-class voters from the Democratic coalition.
Robert F. Kennedy emerges as an unlikely hero in this telling. Although Kennedy was a committed supporter of civil rights, he recognized that Democrats were alienating their working-class base. As a primary candidate in 1968, he emphasized the need to restore “law and order” and took shots at the New Left, opposing draft exemptions for college students. As a result of these and other centrist stances, Kennedy was criticized by the liberal press—even as he won key primary victories on the strength of his support from both white and Black working-class voters.
But Kennedy was assassinated in June that year, and the political path he represented died with him. That November, Nixon, a Republican, narrowly won the White House. In the process, he reached the same conclusion that Kennedy had: The Democrats had lost touch with the working class, leaving millions of voters up for grabs. In the 1972 election, Nixon portrayed his opponent, George McGovern, as the candidate of the “three A’s”—acid, abortion, and amnesty (the latter referring to draft dodgers). He went after Democrats for being soft on crime and unpatriotic. On Election Day, he won the largest landslide since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. For Leonhardt, that was the moment when the New Deal coalition shattered. From then on, as the Democratic Party continued to reflect the views of college graduates and professionals, it would lose more and more working-class voters.
McGhee’s and Leonhardt’s accounts might appear to be in tension, echoing the “race versus class” debate that followed Trump’s victory in 2016. In fact, they’re complementary. As the economist Thomas Piketty has shown, since the’60s, left-leaning parties in most Western countries, not just the U.S., have become dominated by college-educated voters and lost working-class support. But nowhere in Europe was the backlash quite as immediate and intense as it was in the U.S. A major difference, of course, is the country’s unique racial history.
The 1972 election might have fractured the Democratic coalition, but that still doesn’t explain the rise of free-market conservatism. The new Republican majority did not arrive with a radical economic agenda. Nixon combined social conservatism with a version of New Deal economics. His administration increased funding for Social Security and food stamps, raised the capital-gains tax, and created the Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, laissez-faire economics remained unpopular. Polls from the ’70s found that most Republicans believed that taxes and benefits should remain at present levels, and anti-tax ballot initiatives failed in several states by wide margins. Even Reagan largely avoided talking about tax cuts during his failed 1976 presidential campaign. The story of America’s economic pivot still has a missing piece.
According to the economic historian Gary Gerstle’s 2022 book, The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, that piece is the severe economic crisis of the mid-’70s. The 1973 Arab oil embargo sent inflation spiraling out of control. Not long afterward, the economy plunged into recession. Median family income was significantly lower in 1979 than it had been at the beginning of the decade, adjusting for inflation. “These changing economic circumstances, coming on the heels of the divisions over race and Vietnam, broke apart the New Deal order,” Gerstle writes. (Leonhardt also discusses the economic shocks of the ’70s, but they play a less central role in his analysis.)
Free-market ideas had been circulating among a small cadre of academics and business leaders for decades—most notably the University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman. The ’70s crisis provided a perfect opening to translate them into public policy, and Reagan was the perfect messenger. “Government is not the solution to our problem,” he declared in his 1981 inaugural address. “Government is the problem.”
Part of Reagan’s genius was that the message meant different things to different constituencies. For southern whites, government was forcing school desegregation. For the religious right, government was licensing abortion and preventing prayer in schools. And for working-class voters who bought Reagan’s pitch, a bloated federal government was behind their plummeting economic fortunes. At the same time, Reagan’s message tapped into genuine shortcomings with the economic status quo. The Johnson administration’s heavy spending had helped ignite inflation, and Nixon’s attempt at price controls had failed to quell it. The generous contracts won by auto unions made it hard for American manufacturers to compete with nonunionized Japanese ones. After a decade of pain, most Americans now favored cutting taxes. The public was ready for something different.
They got it. The top marginal income-tax rate was 70 percent when Reagan took office and 28 percent when he left. Union membership shriveled. Deregulation led to an explosion of the financial sector, and Reagan’s Supreme Court appointments set the stage for decades of consequential pro-business rulings. None of this, Gerstle argues, was preordained. The political tumult of the ’60s helped crack the Democrats’ electoral coalition, but it took the unusual confluence of a major economic crisis and a talented political communicator to create a new consensus. By the ’90s, Democrats had accommodated themselves to the core tenets of the Reagan revolution. President Bill Clinton further deregulated the financial sector, pushed through the North American Free Trade Agreement, and signed a bill designed to “end welfare as we know it.” Echoing Reagan, in his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton conceded: “The era of big government is over.”
Today, we seem to be living through another inflection point in American politics—one that in some ways resembles the ’60s and ’70s. Then and now, previously durable coalitions collapsed, new issues surged to the fore, and policies once considered radical became mainstream. Political leaders in both parties no longer feel the same need to bow at the altar of free markets and small government. But, also like the ’70s, the current moment is defined by a sense of unresolved contestation. Although many old ideas have lost their hold, they have yet to be replaced by a new economic consensus. The old order is crumbling, but a new one has yet to be born.
The Biden administration and its allies are trying to change that. Since taking office, President Joe Biden has pursued an ambitious policy agenda designed to transform the U.S. economy and taken overt shots at Reagan’s legacy. “Milton Friedman isn’t running the show anymore,” Biden quipped in 2020. Yet an economic paradigm is only as strong as the political coalition that backs it. Unlike Nixon, Biden has not figured out how to cleave apart his opponents’ coalition. And unlike Reagan, he hasn’t hit upon the kind of grand political narrative needed to forge a new one. Current polling suggests that he may struggle to win reelection.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party struggles to muster any coherent economic agenda. A handful of Republican senators, including J. D. Vance, Marco Rubio, and Josh Hawley, have embraced economic populism to some degree, but they remain a minority within their party.
The path out of our chaotic present to a new political-economic consensus is hard to imagine. But that has always been true of moments of transition. In the early ’70s, no one could have predicted that a combination of social upheaval, economic crisis, and political talent was about to usher in a brand-new economic era. Perhaps the same is true today. The Reagan revolution is never coming back. Neither is the New Deal order that came before it. Whatever comes next will be something new.
URL
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/new-deal-us-economy-american-dream/676051/THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION
If the United States wants to reduce inequality, it’s going to need to take an honest look at a contentious issue.
By David Leonhardt
OCTOBER 23, 2023
his bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill,” President Lyndon B. Johnson said as he put his signature on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, at the base of the Statue of Liberty. “It does not affect the lives of millions.” All that the bill would do, he explained, was repair the flawed criteria for deciding who could enter the country. “This bill says simply that from this day forth those wishing to immigrate to America shall be admitted on the basis of their skills and their close relationship to those already here.”
Edward Kennedy, the 33-year-old senator who had shepherded the bill through the Senate, went even further in promising that its effects would be modest. Some opponents argued that the bill would lead to a large increase in immigration, but those claims were false, Kennedy said. They were “highly emotional, irrational, and with little foundation in fact,” he announced in a Senate hearing, and “out of line with the obligations of responsible citizenship.” Emanuel Celler, the bill’s champion in the House, made the same promises. “Do we appreciably increase our population, as it were, by the passage of this bill?” Celler said. “The answer is emphatically no.”
Johnson, Kennedy, Celler and the new law’s other advocates turned out to be entirely wrong about this. The 1965 bill sparked a decades-long immigration wave. As a percentage of the United States population, this modern wave has been similar in size to the immigration wave of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In terms of the sheer number of people moving to a single country, the modern American immigration wave may be the largest in history. The year Johnson signed the immigration bill, 297,000 immigrants legally entered the United States. Two years later, the number reached 362,000. It continued rising in subsequent decades, and by 1989 exceeded 1 million.
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URL
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/us-immigration-policy-1965-act/675724/Milton Friedman Was Wrong
The famed economist’s “shareholder theory” provides corporations with too much room to violate consumers’ rights and trust.
By Eric Posner
On Monday, the Business Roundtable, a group that represents CEOs of big corporations, declared that it had changed its mind about the “purpose of a corporation.” That purpose is no longer to maximize profits for shareholders, but to benefit other “stakeholders” as well, including employees, customers, and citizens.
While the statement is a welcome repudiation of a highly influential but spurious theory of corporate responsibility, this new philosophy will not likely change the way corporations behave. The only way to force corporations to act in the public interest is to subject them to legal regulation.
The shareholder theory is usually credited to Milton Friedman, the University of Chicago economist and Nobel laureate. In a famous 1970 New York Times article, Friedman argued that because the CEO is an “employee” of the shareholders, he or she must act in their interest, which is to give them the highest return possible. Friedman pointed out that if a CEO acts otherwise—let’s say, donates corporate funds to an environmental cause or to an anti-poverty program—the CEO must get those funds from customers (through higher prices), workers (through lower wages), or shareholders (through lower returns). But then the CEO is just imposing a “tax” on other people, and using the funds for a social cause that he or she has no particular expertise in. It would be better to let customers, workers, or investors use that money to make their own charitable contributions if they wish to.
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URL
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/milton-friedman-shareholder-wrong/596545/ -
Celebrating the Flickr x Black Women Photographers Grant 2023 Finalists and Recipient
NOVEMBER 22, 2023
We are delighted to announce the recipient and runner-ups of the the Flickr x Black Women Photographers [ https://blackwomenphotographers.com/ ] grant! The goal of this $2,500 grant is to help one photographer that is part of both Black Women Photographers and Flickr further their photography practice. Plus, ten more talented individuals are granted a one-year Flickr Pro membership and a one-year SmugMug Pro membership!As part of their grant application, participants were asked to share a photo that aligns with the theme, “Light in Motion”. This theme was inspired by Edwina Hay [
Grant Recipient: Genesis Falls – “Children at Play”
Congratulations to Genesis Falls [ https://www.flickr.com/photos/199066659@N05/ ] – the recipient of this $2,500 grant! Genesis is a contemporary portrait photographer who lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. She uses her love for black/white film to demonstrate feelings and emotion through her lens. Capturing people at some of their purest moments.
When asked about the winning photo she says, “It stands out to me not only because of the subjects, but the visual way the light is streaming through the water.” We agree!
Runners-up:
So many amazing photos were submitted for the Flickr x BWP grant. Here’s our ten runners-up!Ngadi Smart – “Family”
Ayesha Kazim – “Mirage”
Michelle Vinbaineashe – “Motheo”
Julia Holcomb – “Bubbles”
Melissa Joen –
Alexis Brown – “Road to the Phoenix”
Gabrielle Morse – “In my motion”
Kamerin Chambers – “Lost in thought”
Bria Woods – “Fourth of July Fireworks”
Marcia Williams – “Nura”
On November 22nd, This Week in Photo’s [ https://thisweekinphoto.com/ ] Frederick Van Johnson and Edwina Hay, joined us for a very special episode of SmugMug Live [
] to celebrate everyone’s entries to the grant. Please take a moment to appreciate their work. If you’re interested in joining the Black Women Photographers community, we invite you to learn more [ https://blackwomenphotographers.com/ ] and request to join the group on Flickr. [