Paul Krugman and The Conscience of a Liberal

October 24, 2007, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

About This Event

Publishers Weekly called the The Conscience of a Liberal "a stimulating manifesto...Krugman's accessible, stylishly presented argument deftly combines economic data with social and political analysis; his account of the racial politics driving conservative successes is especially sharp. The result is a compelling historical defense of liberalism and a clarion call for Americans to retake control of their economic destiny."

With this major new volume, Paul Krugman, "the heir apparent to Galbraith" (Alan Blinder) and, today's most widely read economist, studies the past eighty years of American history, from the reforms that tamed the harsh inequality of the Gilded Age to the unraveling of that achievement and the reemergence of immense economic and political inequality since the 1970s. Seeking to understand both what happened to middle-class America and what it will take to achieve a "new New Deal," Krugman has created his finest book to date, a work that weaves together a nuanced account of three generations of history with sharp political, social, and economic analysis. This book, written with Krugman's trademark ability to explain complex issues simply, will transform the debate about American social policy in much the same way as did John Kenneth Galbraith's deeply influential book, The Affluent Society. Please join senior fellow Scott Lilly for a discussion with Paul Krugman about his new book, The Conscience of a Liberal.

Paul Krugman, author, The Conscience of a Liberal
Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Biographies

Paul Krugman has at least three jobs: he is professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and, perhaps, his best-known job, as an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. In recognition of his influence, The Washington Monthly called him "the most important political columnist in America."

In addition, Krugman's reputation extends well beyond the U.S. The Asia Times recently called him "the Mick Jagger of political/economic punditry." The Economist said he is "the most celebrated economist of his generation." And, recently Mr Krugman received what is often called the European Pulitzer Prize, the Asturias Award given by the King of Spain.

Krugman is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 professional journal articles, many of them on international trade and finance. In recognition of his work, he received the John Bates Clark Medal from the American Economic Association, an award given every two years to the top economist under the age of 40.

For the past 20 years, Krugman has written extensively for non-economists, including a monthly column, "The Dismal Science," for the on-line magazine Slate. He has also been a columnist for Fortune and has published articles in The New Republic, Foreign Policy, Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine, before joining The New York Times.

Prior to his appointment at Princeton, Krugman served on the faculty of MIT; his last post was Ford International Professor of Economics. He also taught at Yale and Stanford Universities, and prior to that he was the senior international economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers, under Ronald Reagan.

He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the Group of Thirty. He has served as a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, as well as to a number of countries including Portugal and the Philippines.

His forthcoming book scheduled for Fall 2007 is The Conscience of a Liberal. His previous book, The Great Unraveling, was highly praised and became a New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. Mr. Krugman and his wife, Robin Wells, have recently collaborated on two college textbooks -- Microeconomics published in October 2004, and Macroeconomics published in the September 2005.

Krugman and his wife live in the Princeton area with their two cats.

Scott Lilly is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress who writes and does research in wide range of areas including governance, federal budgeting, national security and the economy. He joined the Center in March of 2004 after 31 years of service with the United States Congress. He served as Clerk and Staff Director of the House Appropriations Committee, Minority Staff Director of that Committee, Executive Director of the House Democratic Study Group, Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee and Chief of Staff in the Office of Congressman David Obey.

Prior to his service with the Congress, Lilly served as Director of Campaign Services for the Democratic National Committee, Central States Coordinator in the McGovern Presidential Campaign and as a bill drafter for the Missouri legislature.

He served two years in the U.S. Army and is a graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University.

During his career, he has been engaged in a wide array of policy matters ranging across the entire spectrum of government activities. These have included counterterrorism, homeland security, efforts to reform American schools and the financing of federal scientific activities. He has worked on various efforts to reform the legislative process in Congress and served as a political and legislative strategist to the Democratic members of the Appropriations Committee and the House Democratic Leadership.