Whenever the rewards for an action – profits, reproductive success, whatever – depend upon the relative performance of individuals within a group the problem of a divergence between the interests of individuals and the interest of the larger society is likely to be present. The book gives example after example of this “arms race” for positional goods, and details the waste of resources that this causes.

Progressives need a fundamentally new approach to politics. They have been losing not just because conservatives have so much more money and power, but also because they have accepted the conservatives’ framing of political debates. They have accepted a framing where conservatives want market outcomes whereas liberals want the government to intervene to bring about outcomes that they consider fair.

Shopping for insurance and medical treatment: fun for all ages.

Senator Corker knows that good financial regulation isn’t a partisan issue. Let’s hope he and Senator Dodd were paying attention to the good idea of President Obama to regulate swaps by reducing the concentration of the swaps “market”.