Resurgent Liberal

If Reich ( Tales of a New America ) is correct, the political conservatism of George Bush and his predecessor Reagan is Social Darwinism in disguise, promoting shortsighted greed and fostering a nonproductive paper economy. As an alternative, the Harvard political economist outlines a mix of reforms that emphasize a coordinated national industrial policy, investment in new technologies and infrastructure, retraining of workers with corporate support and a flexible, antiprotectionist trade policy. Among the proposals in these 32 incisive articles are a few that some readers might not consider ``liberal,'' e.g., taxing more of Social Security benefits and reducing farm supports. Well worth reading, this volume contains much good sense and sets forth concrete steps that might help revitalize the economy. Topics include collective entrepreneurship, Washington lobbyists, sexism, Pentagon waste and U.S.-Japanese competition. (Oct.)