Robert Samuelson

Robert J. Samuelson is a journalist who writes a twice weekly syndicated column on business and economics issues for The Washington Post. He has written for The Washington Post since 1977 and has also written for Newsweek magazine.

Much of Samuelson’s work focuses on how and why Americans have come to expect more from politics, economics, and culture than what is realistic, leading to inevitable disappointment. He has authored multiple books that touch on this theme, including The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement, 1945-1995. In that book, he writes, “We didn’t merely expect things to get better. We expected all social problems to be solved…We transformed the American Dream into the American Fantasy.” 

Samuelson explored the theme “Spoils Society,” during this Major Issues Lecture event. 

Click below to listen to an audio recording of the talk.