⤴️ Beyond Abundance: My chat with Brink Lindsey about his new book, 'The Permanent Problem'

About this episode

Brink Lindsey discusses his book on the gap between material abundance and human flourishing.

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers in America and around the world: The human pursuit of progress stems from our desire for security and a higher quality of life. Yet, even as today’s advanced economies are the richest and most comfortable they’ve ever been, something is amiss. What explains the decline in R&D growth, mental health, and birth rates, just to name a few challenges? In his new book, The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing , author Brink Lindsey identifies the critical gap between material abundance and abundant human flourishing. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast , Brink and I chat about what constitutes a truly healthy society, beyond surface-level affluence. We identify the conditions for continual progress after our basic needs have been met and far exceeded. Linsey is a senior vice president at the Niskanen Center . He previously served as vice president for research at the Cato Institute and as a senior scholar at the Kauffman Foundation . He has authored and co-authored six books on economics and culture, and is the author of his own Substack, also titled The Permanent Problem . In This…

People in this episode

Host: James Pethokoukis

Guest: Brink Lindsey

Topics covered

• human flourishing
• economic growth
• R&D challenges
• mental health
• birth rates
• material abundance
• societal health

Keywords

• progress
• abundance
• society
• fertility
• culture
• economics
• growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Niskanen Center, Cato Institute, Kauffman Foundation

Books & works: The Permanent Problem, The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing

More episodes of Faster, Please! — The Podcast

• ✨💪 The future of work in an age of AI: My chat with economist Daniel Rock · April 28, 2026 · 28 min
• 🏗️ A hub for hard-tech startups: My chat with 'American Shenzhen' builder Joshua Farahzad · April 10, 2026 · 20 min
• ✨ The Age of AI, an update: My chat with policy analyst Dean Ball · March 24, 2026 · 43 min
• 🌎 Storm watch: My chat with climate policy expert Roger Pielke Jr. · February 19, 2026 · 35 min
• ☄️Awaiting apocalypse: My chat with journalist and author Dorian Lynskey · February 4, 2026 · 27 min
• ⚛️ A final (and lasting?) nuclear revival: My chat with nuclear energy advocate Jessica Lovering · January 20, 2026 · 27 min