Who really gets ahead in a market-based economy.
This book asks the reader a simple question: Is our economy a ladder or a lottery? Are people able to control their position on the economic spectrum by their actions? Some argue that, in our market-based economy, if you play by certain rules and make certain choices, you'll achieve upward mobility no matter what economic position you were born into.
Drawing on his vast economic expertise, Gary A. Hoover explores what this "social contract" requires of its citizens, and what it offers in return. Hoover shows how civil unrest is often directly related to broken society-level promises, exploring protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party, the Arab Spring, and student debt forgiveness as case studies. He also predicts where future protests can be expected if results promised are not results delivered.
This insightful and data-driven book tackles challenging issues around income inequality, health care, and artificial intelligence, and ultimately equips readers to answer these pressing questions: Is our social contract a ladder to higher economic standing, accessible to all no matter where they start? Or rather a lottery in which many will buy a ticket but only a few will find success? And how can we best align social promises with our lived economic realities?
Gary A. Hoover is Executive Director of the Murphy Institute, Professor of Economics, and Affiliate Professor of Law at Tulane University.
"Gary Hoover crystallizes an urgent reality. Engaging and vivid, Ladder or Lottery lays bare the widespread failings of the social contract in the United States. As this book authoritatively shows, our system's frequent disjuncture between effort and reward has become increasingly disruptive to societal cohesion."—Mitchell P. Smith, Professor of International Affairs and Director of the School of International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University
"The innovative resuscitation of the concept of the social contract in the context of a world where individuals make social comparisons compels us to engage in a vital rethinking of the nature of poverty, inequality, and deprivation. Gary Hoover's book is essential reading for all citizens, researchers, and policymakers who seek a more equitable society in these challenging times."—William Darity Jr., Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Duke University
"A country's perceived social contract is one of the key determinants of its response to economic inequality. This enlightening volume explores fascinating questions about how social contracts are formed, how they evolve, and what happens when a substantial part of the citizenry believes they are broken."—James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
200 pp.5.5 x 8.5Illus: 10 b/w figures, 1 table
9780520402621$27.95|£24.00Hardcover
Feb 2026