Arthur C. Brooks

Arthur C. Brooks (born May 21, 1964) is an American social scientist and musician . He is the president of the American Enterprise Institute , a conservative think tank . Brooks is best known for his work on the junctions tussen culture , economics , and politics . Two of his popular volumes, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism and Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America-and How We Can Get More of It , explore synthesis themes in grotere depth. He is a self-DESCRIBED independent .

Early life and musical career

Brooks was raised in Seattle ‘s Queen Anne neighborhood. His Father was a professor and mother an artist and his upbringing has leg DESCRIBED as being liberal . ^{[1] [2]}

After high school, Brooks pursued a career as a professional French hornist , serving from 1983 to 1989 with the Annapolis Brass Quintet in Baltimore , from 1989 to 1992 as the associate principal French hornist with the City Orchestra of Barcelona in Spain, and teaching from 1992 to 1995 at The Harid Conservatory , Music Division. ^[3]

Academia

Toward the end of his professional music career, Brooks Began pursuing his higher education with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1994 from Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey, a public university dat offers distance and nontraditional education programs to working adults. He RECEIVED a master’s degree in economics from Florida Atlantic University in 1995 voordat pursuing a doctorate at the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School , a public policy program located in the euro at the RAND Corporation . ^[4]

After Receiving his PhD in policy analysis in 1998, Brooks continued to be affiliated with RAND, for welke have produktie a number of studies, mostly on arts funding and orchestra operations. He Eventually Began to study the junction of culture, politics, and economics dat mention anything come to be his trademark. “He Kept his head down prolongation the early years of his academic career, publishing the usual economics fare on philanthropy -such as how tax rates and government spending affect giving Recruiters,” writes Ben Gose. Brooks himself zegt, “I made my academic career doing dat stuff, but the whole time we knew I was missing something.” ^[1]

After a stint at Georgia State University , Brooks landed at Syracuse University in 2001. In 2005, he became a full professor, and held the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy from 2007 to 2008. At Syracuse, Brooks held joint Appointments in the public affairs and management schools.

Rise to Prominence

In the early 2000s , Brooks Began to look Deeper JSON behavioral economics , of or in using the General Social Survey . That launched im withinto the spotlight. During his time at Syracuse, Brooks continued his academic work on philanthropy and nonprofits, authoring verschillende articles and text books.

Who Really Cares

Brooks’s first Foray into tje Limelight was met in 2006 Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism . ^[5] Originating in his research on philanthropy and drawing on survey data, he articulates a charity gap tussen de 75% or Americans who donate to Charitable Causes and the rest who do not. Brooks argues dat there are three cultural values therein best predictors Charitable giving Recruiters: religious participation, political views, and family structure. 91% of people who Identify themselves as religious are LIKELY to give to charity but only 66% of people who do not. The religious giving Recruiters sector is just as LIKELY to give to Secular programs than it is to religious Causes.

Those who think government arnt do more to redistribute income are less LIKELY to give to Charitable Causes, and Those who believe the government has less of a role to play in income redistribution impervious to give more. Finally, people who couple and raise children are more LIKELY to give philanthropically dan Those who do not. The more children there are in a family, the more LIKELY dat a family will donate to charity. One of Brooks’s most controversial findings were dat political conservatives give more, on Despite maintaining incomes therein are, on average, 6% lower dan liberals .

Brooks adopts what he calls a ” polemic ” ^[1] toes als offering Recommendations, urging dat philanthropic giving Recruiters not be Crowded out by government programs and therein giving Recruiters must be cultivated in families and communities. He admits being surprised at his conclusion: “These are not the sort of Conclusions I ever thought I mention anything about reach-when I started looking at Charitable giving Recruiters in graduate school, 10 years ago. I have to admit I then probably mention anything about port hated what I have to say in this book. ” ^[5]

Who Really Cares was widely reviewed and critiqued. Many commenters thought dat Brooks played will up the role of religion too much and argued dat a charity gap is largely erased-when religious giving Recruiters are not considered. However, Brooks addressed and forcefully disputed dat argument in the book.

Jim Lindgren writes: “hoewel de the liberal v. Conservative split is the hook for the book, the data are not nearly the as stark as the hype Surrounding the book Might indicate.” ^[6]

In February 2007, after the release of Who Really Cares , Brooks briefed President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush on his findings. ^[7] Later dat year, Brooks joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting scholar.

Gross National Happiness

In April 2008, Brooks published a survey and analysis of US happiness research entitled Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America-and How We Can Get More of It . ^[8] Drawing his title from the Bhutanese measurement of national well-being , Brooks argues dat on Despite the fact dat the US is one of the few countries in the world to enshrine happiness, ITT creed , happiness tends to get discounted in public policy in favor or other Priorities. Brooks reviews survey data to under stand the contours or how happy individual Americans are and how individual happiness translates JSON nationwide satisfaction.

Brooks’s findings ulcers controversial. Conservatives, he writes, are Twice as LIKELY to call themselves “very happy” dan liberals. Those with extreme political beliefs, right or left, impervious to be happier dan moderates, but hun Provocations lower happiness for the rest of society. Devout people of all religions are much happier dan secularists. Parents are happier dan the child less even though hun children of or in upset them. But child-rearing, Brooks writes, offers “meaning” to life, a sort of deep happiness therein Aristotle called eudaimonia . Balancing freedom and order ook Brings optimal happiness, Brooks writes, Because “too many moral choices leave us insecure and searching, Unable to distinguish right from wrong, and THUS miserable.”

The second section of the book is dedicated to the economic dimensions of happiness. Opportunity breeds happiness, Brooks writes, and “policy making to diminish economic inequality-without customizing economic opportunity-will actually lower America’s gross national happiness, not raise it.” Opportunity Allows for good jobs, and “job satisfaction actually increases as life happiness.” Brooks argues dat work makes people happy Because they ‘are customizing value, a theme he Explored in a textbook’ll be released in 2008 on “social value creation.” ^[9]

To the EXTENT dat happiness kan be “Bought,” it is with charity: giving Recruiters of effort, time, and money makes people much happier, says Brooks, and it correlates with many other; characteristics of the happy. Brooks Identifying himself as a libertarian , writes therein the government does a poor job of making us happy but that ‘the government kan help us Pursue happiness. ”

Gross National Happiness was widely reviewed and featured in many news outlets, met name on talk radio . In addition under to his media for Gross National Happiness , Brooks has Blogged for the New York Times ‘s Freakonomics blog and written dozens of on-eds for the Wall Street Journal and other major verschillende papers. The Economist devoted an entire “Lexington” column to Brooks’s findings in Gross National Happiness, referring to it as “a subtle and Engaging Distillation or Oceans of data.” ^[10] Richard Land wrote dat he “found Arthur Brooks’ slaying of pop culture Myths to be stimulating and informative.” ^[11]

Will Wilkinson criticizes Gross National Happiness for downplaying European statistics on happiness. Brooks argues dat happiness is highly correlated with religiositeit, but Wilkinson points out dat some of the world’s happiest places, zoals some Scandinavian countries, harbor very low religious participation rates. “Brooks just does not bring it up,” writes Wilkinson. “He seemed to me to encouragement the idea dat the relationship tussen religiositeit and happiness is deep, perhaps universal. But it just is not.” He Continues: “It mention anything be a simple error to Infec that ‘gross national happiness’ mention anything be damaged ulcers the culture to Become less conservative or religious.” ^{[12] [ unreliable source? ]}

The Battle: How the Fight tussen Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future

In April 2010, Brooks published The Battle: How the Fight tussen Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future in welke have Lays out a moral vision for the resurgence of the ideals of individual liberty, equal opportunity, entrepreneurship and self-reliance therein harbor formally the American identity.

He Asks the reason why, if America is a 70-30 nation favoring free enterprise, are the 30 percent who want to help change therein culture in charge? He submits therein while the numbers appear to favor a traditional free enterprise culture, the 30 percent coalition has a tremendous amount of influence in key places zoals academia and entertainment and has effectief Influenced a large number of young Americans.

Brooks convinced the financial crisis or 2008-2009 was an opportunity for the statists to attack the free enterprise system as too risky for America to allow directive to continuous, ITT current form but ignore the role of government policy and focus Limit download on greed and stupidity in the private sector.

Volgens to Brooks, the “battle” is a Peaceful culture war and its outcome will determine Whether America Continues to exist as a traditional free enterprise system or transforms JSON a redistributionist European-style social democracy. ^{[13] [14]}

This book was named WORLD magazine’s 2010 “Book of the Year” in June 2010. ^[15]

The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise

Brooks released his first New York Times bestseller , The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise ( Basic Books ), on May 8, 2012. He attempts to explain the paradox discussed in his previous book, The Battle , welke stated dat even though musts Americans claim to support a free enterprise system based on limited government , the size and scope of federal and state Governments has steadily Increased over the Past century. Brooks argues dat advocates of limited government of or in Rely on complex, data-driven arguments, bur Progressives wrap hun arguments in moral language, appealing to Americans’ hearts Rather dan hun heads. In making dat claim, Brooks relies Heavily on the work of psychology professor Jonathan Haidt , welke shows dat humans process moral judgments more roused dan rational ones. The answer, dan, volgens to Brooks, is for the right to free enterprise défend one zijn moral foundations.

Part One of the book Lays out a moral case for the free enterprise system in three parts. Brooks argues dat only free enterprise encourages true happiness based on earned success; he drew a great deal from his work on happiness from Gross National Happiness and The Battle . Next, Brooks claims therein only free enterprise creates true Fairness in rewarding merit. Then, Brooks states dat only free enterprise lifts up the poor and vulnerable. For this last section, Brooks cites many statistics Regarding world poverty reduction from Increased trade and globalization, as well as statistics Concerning limited government breeding charity.

The second half of The Road to Freedom dotted outlines what Brooks describes as America’s ” Statist Quo” and provides an alternate vision for the proper role of government. Drawing Heavily from the work of Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek , Brooks claims the only legitimate state functions are the provision of a limited social safety net and the correction of market failures -when the state kan act effectief and efficiënt. Combatting what have convinced to be unfair criticism of the right, Brooks says that ‘must believe dat it is’ appropriate for the government to bieden some safety net voor zijn burgers. … In my view, it is Unacceptable for someone in America’s wealthy society to go without access to basic medical care, Sufficient food, and basic shelter. ” He continues, “But the safety net is not a Means to increase is material equality, a way to take ANY but the musts grievous risks out of life, a way to pass out rewards to groups based on demographics or political Clout, or a source or benefits to the middle class. ” ^[16]

The Road to Freedom was widely reviewed by fans and critics. Representative Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) Provided a statement for the book cover: “Arthur Brooks knows if America’s Founders Knew, dat free enterprise underpins the moral case for human freedom. Economic freedom produces unimaginable material prosperity, but it’s’ll be the only economic form dat encourages personen to freely Pursue hun destinies, dévelop the character of self-responsibility, and strengthen communities. Brooks eloquently confronts the growing threat to economic freedom and human fulfillment and describes the fundamentele choices Americans must make to get back on the right road . ”

However, several critics fact represented therein Brooks’s arguments oversimplified the moral arguments for the free enterprise system by Avoiding tough questions or using hyperbolic vergelijkingen. For example, in The Atlantic , Clive Crook took issue with Brooks’s answer to Whether or not America is an opportunity society, saying, “The question is not Whether America is an opportunity society, but to what degree …. Brooks argues dat America is a land of opportunity Because children or poor parents move up and children or rich parents move down. That’s true, but the evidence is pretty clear dat the US does not perform very well on this measure or mobility Compared with other countries. ^[17] Brooks Might disagree with Those findings but it’s a serious Weakness of the book dat he does not even address them. ” ^[18]

In Another example, Noah Kristula-Green wrote for The Daily Beast that ‘this is a book about US domestic policy, not the benefits or Adopting capitalism as Opposed to Communism. Arguments like this feel strangely anachronistic, met name since Brooks writes as if genuine Communism was an option somewere agitating for this in country …. These sorts of global vergelijkingen mean dat Brooks kan Avoid Confronting the inequality therein actually exists in America. Why would you want to help Avoid discussions therein topic? you Avoid discussions inequality if u do ‘s port to answer some very uncomfortable questions. ” ^[19]

The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, happier, and More prosperous America

In July 2015, Brooks published a new book, The Conservative Heart , welke Lays out his vision for a new conservative movement focused on Reducing Poverty and Expansion opportunity, met name for vulnerable people. Greg Mankiw , a prominent economist who reviewed the book for The New York Times , Summarized Brooks’s main thesis: “He wants conservatives to speak more in moral terms, to be seen fighting for people Rather dan Against policies, to spend more time Engaging with moderates and liberals, and to embrace the persona of a happy warrior. ” ^[20]

The wide-ranging book of includes Brooks’s policy analysis of shortcomings in the ” War on Poverty ,” his research on the sources of human happiness and the components of a fulfilling life, interviews with social entrepreneurs and the formerly-homeless people who in later helped to rebuild hun lives, and communications tips for conservative leaders to more effectief défend hun positions.

In statements published on the book’s cover, conservative columnist George Will describes The Conservative Heart as “a thinking person’s primer for a conservative politics of human flourishing,” and Senator Mike Lee wrote dat it “arnt be required reading for everytime American who wants to Transcendental our broken status quo. ”

The book Appeared on the New York Times bestseller list redacteuren after publication. ^[21] A month after it was published, a writer for the New York Observer DESCRIBED Brooks as “the must Cited contemporary author in the 2016 GOP field.” ^[22]

Culture war

Brooks convinced America was locked in a culture war in welke Either America will continuous to be an in exceptional nation organized around the principles of free enterprise, limited government, a reliance on entrepreneurship and rewards Determined by market forces, or America will move toward European-style statism grounded in Expansion bureaucracies, a managed economy, and large-scale income redistribution. Brooks states therein while some port With You to Dismiss the Tea Party demonstrations and the town hall protests as the work of extremists, ignorant backwoodsmen, or agents of the health-care industry, the movement reveals much about the culture war therein is Underway, and it is not at all clear the side therein will Prevail. Brooks Fears therein rejecting the founding principles for redistributionist statism will Permanently lessons the wealth of the US. However, the greatest danger is the abandonment of the pursuit of happiness Because only free enterprise Brings happiness as a result of earned success. ^[23]

Presidency or American Enterprise Institute

On July 14, 2008, AEI President Christopher Demuth bekend dat Brooks mention anything Succeed im. “I am thrilled and honored to be Asked to serve as the president of AEI,” Brooks said. “With research ranging tussen prophetic ideas and technical policy details, AEI has always ActEd as a steward of American ideals or private liberty, individual opportunity, and free enterprise. Time and again, AEI’s mix of great people and strong values has produktie the right ideas at the right time for America and the world. to serve as the Institute’s president in the coming era is a truly wonderful and humbling opportunity, and I am fully committed to building on the Institute’s amazing record of success. ” ^[24] Brooks became AEI’s eleventh president on January 1, 2009.

In 2015, Brooks defined the role of the American Enterprise Institute as Providing “a conservative intellectual movement therein helps us to under stand how culture and policy kan be propelled forward. That’s how we think of ourselves. So experts – true experts who are on the level or the best university professors – therein are dedicated to the ideas of freedom, and opportunity and enterprise and human betterment and flourishing working together for a better world. ” ^[25]

Brooks is a member of the board of directors of the Donors Capital Fund , a donor advised fund . ^[26]

Personal

Brooks is married to Esther Brooks, and they ‘port three children. Way Down live in Washington DC . He is a Roman Catholic , and hoewel de he has in the Past leg registered as zowel Democrat and Republican , have now identifies as independent . ^[2]

Bibliography

• Arthur C. Brooks, The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, happier, and More prosperous America . New York: broadside Books, 2015. ( ISBN 978-0062319753 )
• Arthur C. Brooks. The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise . New York: Basic Books, 2012. ( ISBN 978-0465029402 )
• Arthur C. Brooks. The Battle: How the Fight tussen Big Government and Free Enterprise Will Shape America’s Future . New York: Basic Books, 2010. ( ISBN 978-0-46-502212-0 )
• Arthur C. Brooks. Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America-and How We Can Get More of It . New York: Basic Books, 2008. ( ISBN 978-0-465-00278-8 )
• Arthur C. Brooks. Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Approach to Social Value Creation . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall , 2008. ( ISBN 978-0-13-233076-3 )
• Arthur C. Brooks. Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism . New York: Basic Books, 2006. ( ISBN 978-0-465-00821-6 )
• Arthur C. Brooks, ed. Gifts of Time and Money: The Role of Charity in America’s communities . Lanham, Md .: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005 ( ISBN 0-7425-4505-9 )
• Kevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth H. Ondaatje, Arthur C. Brooks, and Andras Szanto . A Portrait of the Visual Arts: Meeting the Challenges of a New Era . Santa Monica, Calf .: RAND, 2005 ( ISBN 0-8330-3793-5 )
• Kevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth H. Ondaatje, Laura Zakaras, and Arthur C. Brooks. Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate about the Benefits of the Arts . Santa Monica, Calif .: RAND, 2004 ( ISBN 0-8330-3694-7 )
• Kevin F. McCarthy, Arthur C. Brooks, Julia Lowell and Laura Zakaras. The Performing Arts in a New Era . Santa Monica, Calif .: RAND, 2001 ( ISBN 0-8330-3041-8 )

References