Ethical Culture Society of Silicon Valley

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“A terrific book...Powerful and persuasive.” —Fareed Zakaria
“Spectacular…Offers a comprehensive indictment of the current problems and a clear path forward…Klein and Thompson usher in a mood shift. They inspire hope and enlarge the imagination.” —David Brooks, The New York Times

From bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.

To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough.

Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next gener­ation’s problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished.

Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and pre­serves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.

Suggest a book!! Not too long a read. Choose something available in print, audio, and electronic versions. Please put the title in the comments section or message Ben through Meetup with your suggestion.

All are welcome, whether you have read the book or not. There is much for everyone to discuss and learn.

A virtual meeting. The link shows when you RSVP. If you need a passcode, it is ethics.

NOTICE this is in person!

We are providing 48 sack lunches every month, which we bag on the first Sunday. Please join us.

We will again make PB&J sandwiches and assemble sack lunches, including snack foods (individually wrapped), drinks, and fruit that the staff can hand out through the rest of the month.

We've been at this since June 2022, and it has been a lot of fun! We write personal notes to include with the lunches. We make 48 PB&J sandwiches. We fill lunch sacks with chips, snack mixes, food bars, apple sauce, raisins, bananas and oranges. When we are done, we gather with our own PB&J sandwiches and enjoy each other's company as we eat the same meal we just packed in lunches for Grace, an act of solidarity.

Phil reported that our lunches were a big hit with Grace clients.

The plan: Gather at 12:00 noon PST Sunday to make PB&J sandwiches and pack sack lunches with everything but the sandwiches and fresh fruit, which will be refrigerated overnight. Tuesday, the lunches will be delivered to Phil at the Grace parking lot.

Who can help, one way or another? If you can join the sandwich making at 12:00, RSVP and you will get the address through a meetup message. Want to contribute something to the lunches? RSVP and you will get details.

Please join us.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we continue to support Grace this way.

RSVP to get details for participating.

Our Coffee & Conversation sessions are informal, inclusive, supportive gatherings. We just talk about things that are on our minds and in our hearts, things that make for, or detract from, a fulfilling human life in the real world for ourselves and for other people. We listen to each other, share our thoughts, and enjoy the time together. Coffee, tea and goodies provided.

Join the conversation!

To promote a respectful space where everyone's voice can be heard, we encourage participants to:
-Wait to speak until others are finished rather than interrupting
-Avoid giving advice unless requested
-Be mindful of how long you talk and try to keep it to 1-2 minutes at a time so everyone has a chance to talk