Marc Goldwein: The end of the ownership society?

The New America Foundation's Marc Goldwein has an excellent article in George Mason University's History News Network on the influences, rise and potential decline of what President Bush called the "ownership society," embodied by the idea of personal accounts for Social Security. It's a very good piece and well worth reading.

For what it's worth, here's an old article of mine which argues for the non-financial benefits of ownership. I still think the basic rationale for ownership has merit and many of the arguments against it don't stand up to scrutiny. But Goldwein's article is more about the political dynamics, and there I agree that with the decline in the stock market, housing prices, etc., the idea of personal ownership has taken a knock.