Restlessness, ambition, and innovation have traditionally been key American traits. But things are changing fast, argues renowned economist and best-selling author Tyler Cowen. In The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream, Cowen provocatively documents how Americans are becoming more insulated, comfortable, and—despite Donald Trump's surprise win—accepting of the status quo: they now move less, start fewer businesses, marry people more like themselves, and increasingly shop using algorithms that wall them off from the unfamiliar.

America, warns Cowen, risks becoming more segregated and unequal and is relinquishing its global dominance in innovation. Please join the Mercatus Center and Manhattan Institute for a conversation with professor Cowen and Howard Husock, MI vice president for research and publications. Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of The Complacent Class; a book signing will follow the discussion.

Tyler Cowen is Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University, where he is also chairman and general director of the Mercatus Center. He is coauthor of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution as well as cofounder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University. Cowen holds a B.S. from George Mason University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

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