Bahnsen David L(Foreword) - Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It

Advance Praise for
Crisis of Responsibility

David has hit home on the key point that must drive a new era of prosperity: with greater opportunity comes greater responsibility. The next generation of climbers in an aspirational society deserve a better shake from the establishment, but ultimately, they must embrace all challenges with a dogged determination. Davids book says no to the blame game, and yes to the triumph of the human spirit.

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI , former White House Communications Director; Founder, SkyBridge Capital

There is a virtuous cycle between responsibility and prosperity, and David has tapped into this favorite message of Jack Kemp in a way we need today more than ever. The vicious cycle of deteriorating social structures and poverty can be replaced, and readers of this book will see the path forward for real growtha virtuous, opportunity-oriented society.

LARRY KUDLOW , Senior Contributor, CNBC

Only when the great mass of people reawaken to their civic duties will they be able to wrest control of America from an elite that has shown its failure to lead again and again. David Bahnsens new book is the first step along this important path.

JONAH GOLDBERG , Senior Fellow and Contributor,
National Review

David Bahnsen outlines cultural, economic, and political remedies for an ailing America of all classes. His often autobiographical message is that our fate still rests in our own hands. We are not pawns of global determinism, but with a few basic collective reforms and a return to individual self-reliance instead of our current self-obsessions, we can rebuild a prosperous, fair, and dynamic American culture and civilization. An outsider/insider message of hope and renewal that is now as rare as it is needed.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON , Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution,
Stanford University

David Bahnsen has written a bracing and incisive critique of our increasingly pervasive culture of victimization. He makes a compelling case that its still within our power, and absolutely necessary, that we help ourselves. You will enjoy and profit from this book.

RICH LOWRY , Editor in Chief, National Review

When will we put our fingers to better use than pointing them at each other or thrusting a middle one into the air? David Bahnsen shows us how to use our hands and brains to improve housing, education, labor markets, tax policy, and more.

DR. MARVIN OLASKY , Editor in Chief, WORLD

In any debate, the one who controls the narrative wins the day, and David Bahnsen is about shifting the narrative on discussions related to doing well and good at the same time. Bahnsen has undertaken this herculean task in Crisis of Responsibility by combining his economic and financial acumen with his moral clarity in a manner that is neither didactic nor preachy. See if you dont agree.

FR. ROBERT SIRICO , President, the Acton Institute

We all look for paths for finances and economics to help us succeed and move ahead in life. David Bahnsen has targeted the best possible stance toward this, which is to take responsibility for ones actions, starting at the individual level. He also provides a well-thought-out framework of specific suggestions to get this done. Highly recommended.

DR. JOHN TOWNSEND , New York Times bestselling author;
Founder of the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling

The philosopher Johann Herder once defined culture as the lifeblood of a people; the flow of moral energy that keeps a society intact. If that analysis is correct, then we can respond that our society has been definitively exsanguinated. For this reason, I am so glad David Bahnsens book has made its way to the publicfor such a time as this. From Wall Street to Main Street and from tech to trade, Bahnsen diagnoses the fundamental problem that ails us and prescribes the only possible cure. He chronicles the decline of individual responsibility while simultaneously offering concrete proposals to bring it back to the nation.

DR. GREGORY THORNBURY , President, Kings College

Markets are living moral creatures, as David Bahnsen notes. The world has been waiting for someone from finance to address the moral aspect of the 2008 crisis. Dave Moral Hazard Bahnsen delivers it.

AMITY SHLAES , Board Chair, Coolidge Presidential Foundation

In his thought-provoking, brilliant new book, David Bahnsen brings to light, in an easy to read style, the necessary components for building and maintaining a prosperous and moral society. Personal responsibility, opportunity, and limited government are cornerstones for success for all Americans. It is a must read.

SALLY PIPES , President, Pacific Research Institute

Bahnsen has produced the quintessential counter-narrative to both the 2008 financial collapse and the 2016 presidential election. The theme of both individual and institutional responsibility was a major driving force behind the founding of our nation, and it was a guiding principle until at least halfway through the twentieth century. Its evaporation in recent decades has dramatically altered our culture. Bahnsen exposes this crisis and shows us the way out of it. I eagerly endorse this book, but I must say that the most telling endorsement is nothing I could say, but rather the author himself, whom I have known for twenty years as the epitome of individual responsibility. This man practices what he preaches. It is principally for this reason that I urge you to listen to his preaching: the more David Bahnsens that emerge, the fewer cultural crises we would suffer.

P. ANDREW SANDLIN , Founder and President,
Center for Cultural Leadership

Bahnsen brings rare assets to his treatment of the 2008 financial crisis. He has decades of first-hand experience in the financial industry, a keen understanding of economics, and a willingness to make fair but unpopular moral judgments. Together, these allow him to offer an account of the crisis that is both precise and comprehensive. The financial crisis is, in part, a tale of morality. But its not the cartoon morality tale that demonizes stereotypical villains and lets the rest of us off the hook. If we want to avoid a future crisis like the last one, we need to learn the lessons Bahnsen offers.

JAY RICHARDS , Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute; Professor,
Catholic University of America

CRISIS OF RESPONSIBILITY

A POST HILL PRESS BOOK

Crisis of Responsibility

Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It

2018 by David L. Bahnsen

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-68261-625-3

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-626-0

Cover Design by Tricia Principe, triciaprincipedesign.com

Interior Design and Composition by Greg Johnson/Textbook Perfect

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Legacy, LLC,
501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite #313-348, Winter Park, FL 32789.

Post Hill Press

New York Nashville

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

For Joleen,
who has kept me on the path of a virtuous life
more than I deserve,
and who joined me so many years ago
on a lifetime journey where commitment and love
have been blessings, not burdens,
and where the rewards have been not just prosperous,
but the stuff dreams are made of.

CONTENTS