Abundance
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompsonby Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Hacker ApprovedRanked 14 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended for its clear summary of over-regulation problems in building projects and proposed deregulation fixes; critics say its ideas are recycled neoliberal economics.
Recommended for its clear summary of over-regulation problems in building projects and proposed deregulation fixes; critics say its ideas are recycled neoliberal economics.
19 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 74%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear summary of regulation problems
“Abundance does a good job of summarizing the problems (over-regulation) and suggesting solutions (de-regulation)”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani's policies as 'normal'” “the Abundance guys have done a great job summarizing them”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “62 years in the making: NYC's newest water tunnel nears the finish line” Explains why government projects struggle
“It's about figuring out the right set of rules and incentives that allow governments to sustainably build things”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Profiling the "Abundance" housing bottleneck with real data” “a pretty easy read, and a really interesting examination of why projects like this struggle”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “California high-speed rail price tag jumps to $231B, nearly 7x 2008 estimate” Appeals to builders and engineers
“Both are excellent books and will probably appeal to a lot of Hacker News folks with an engineering/builder mindset.”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 on Hacker News “We get out of it by building more, read Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “Wages in America Are Too Low for the 30% Rule to Work for Renters Anymore”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Neoliberal ideas repackaged as new
“Abundance is mostly neoliberal economic ideas repackaged for the current iteration of consultants”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “India's surprise baby bust is a warning to the world” “"Let them eat cake" Ezra Klein "Abundance" neoliberalism affluenza.”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Intellectuals Are Fucking Idiots” Tired, recycled, deregulation-focused arguments
“Ezra Klein’s ideas mostly feel tired, recycled, boring, outdated, and rudderless.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What are young technically minded people reading?” “what they have done is read some economists and argue, again, for deregulation.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani's policies as 'normal'”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Abundanceby Ezra Klein and Derek ThompsonThis page | 14 | 5 | 74% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
14 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“liberals who promote "abundance" policies”
“"Let them eat cake" Ezra Klein "Abundance" neoliberalism affluenza.”
“It's about figuring out the right set of rules and incentives that allow governments to sustainably build things”
“The housing claims in the book are basically unfalsifiable as written.”
“We get out of it by building more, read Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.”
“the Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson book Abundance touches on this topic if you're curious”
“I both liked Abundance and think there's truth to what you're saying.”
“Abundance is mostly neoliberal economic ideas repackaged for the current iteration of consultants”
“a pretty easy read, and a really interesting examination of why projects like this struggle”
“the Abundance guys have done a great job summarizing them”
“Ezra Klein’s ideas mostly feel tired, recycled, boring, outdated, and rudderless.”
“what they have done is read some economists and argue, again, for deregulation.”
“Abundance does a good job of summarizing the problems (over-regulation) and suggesting solutions (de-regulation)”
“Both are excellent books and will probably appeal to a lot of Hacker News folks with an engineering/builder mindset.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.