“Abundance is defined as a state where essential resources – such as housing, energy, healthcare, and transportation – are made flourishing, affordable, and universally accessible through an intentional focus on increasing supply.” – Abundance
Abundance is defined as a state where essential resources – such as housing, energy, healthcare, and transportation – are made flourishing, affordable, and universally accessible through an intentional focus on increasing supply.1,2
Comprehensive Definition and Context
The concept of abundance represents a paradigm shift in political and economic thinking, advocating a ‘politics of plenty’ that prioritises building and innovation over scarcity-driven approaches. Coined prominently in the 2025 book Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, it critiques how past regulations – intended to solve 1970s problems – now hinder progress in the 2020s by blocking urban density, green energy, and infrastructure projects.2,4
At its core, abundance calls for liberalism that not only protects but actively builds. It argues that modern crises stem from insufficient supply rather than mere distribution failures. Solutions involve streamlining regulations, boosting innovation in areas like clean energy, housing, and biotechnology, and fostering high-density economic hubs to enhance idea generation and mobility.1,2 This contrasts with traditional scarcity mindsets, where progressives fear growth and conservatives resist government intervention, trapping societies in unaffordability.4
Key pillars include:
- Housing: Permitting high-rise developments in vital cities without undue barriers to increase supply and affordability.1
- Energy and Infrastructure: Accelerating clean energy and transport projects to meet demands sustainably.2
- Healthcare and Innovation: Expanding medical residencies, drug approvals, and R&D while balancing equity with supply growth – a ‘floor without a ceiling’ model, as seen in France.1
- Governance Reform: Reducing legalistic processes that prioritise procedure over outcomes.7
Critics note it de-emphasises redistribution in favour of supply-side innovation, potentially overlooking power dynamics, though proponents see it as a path beyond socialist left and populist right extremes.3,4,5
Key Theorist: Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is the pre-eminent theorist behind the abundance agenda, co-authoring the seminal book Abundance with Derek Thompson. A leading liberal thinker, Klein shifted focus from political polarisation to economic abundance, arguing it offers a unifying path forward.1,2
Born in 1984 in Irvine, California, Klein rose through blogging on Wonkblog at The Washington Post, analysing policy with data-driven rigour. He co-founded Vox in 2014 as editor-in-chief, building it into a platform for explanatory journalism. In 2021, he launched The Ezra Klein Show podcast and joined The New York Times as a columnist, influencing discourse on liberalism’s failures.1,2
Klein’s relationship to abundance stems from observing how liberal governance stagnated: over-regulation stifles building, exacerbating shortages in housing and energy. In conversations, like with Tyler Cowen, he defends scaling elite institutions (e.g., doubling Harvard’s size) and critiques demand-side fixes without supply increases.1 His classically liberal view of power – checking arbitrary domination – underpins abundance as a corrective to equity-obsessed policies that neglect production.3 Klein positions it as reclaiming progressivism’s building ethos, countering both left-wing caution and right-wing anti-statism.2,4
Through Abundance, Klein provides intellectual firepower for a ‘liberalism that builds’, impacting policymakers and coalitions seeking tangible solutions.6,7
References
1. https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ezra-klein-3/
2. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/9781668023488
3. https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/06/09/abundance-has-a-theory-of-power/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_(Klein_and_Thompson_book)
5. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-real-path-to-abundance/
6. https://www.inclusiveabundance.org/abundance-in-action/published-work/abundance-a-primer
7. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/abundance-and-its-insights-for-policymakers
