The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what we have, which includes the kind of society that has made countless blessings possible. The warmth, security, and generosity that many Americans experience during the holidays are not accidents or pure gifts of nature. In their tangible sense, they are the products of a long and extraordinary period of economic growth—one that has expanded opportunity, reduced hardship, and given moral ideals room to breathe.
History shows quite clearly that the societies most capable of generosity and liberalism are not those trapped in poverty but those that have escaped it. An abundance of wealth does not corrupt moral life; it enables it. Economic growth is not a rival to our highest values. It's a precondition to their most vigorous pursuit.
