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The Western world has experienced extraordinary economic progress throughout the last six decades, a prosperous period so extended that continuous economic growth has come to seem normal. But such an era of continuously rising living standards is a historical anomaly, economist Stephen D. King warns, and the current stagnation of Western economies threatens to reach crisis proportions in the not-so-distant future.Praised for the dose of realism he provided in his book, King follows up in this volume with a plain-spoken assessment of where the West stands today. Its not just the end of an age of affluence, he shows. We have made promises to ourselves that are achievable onlythrough ongoing economic expansion. The future benefits we expectpensions, healthcare, and social security, for examplemay be larger than tomorrows resources. And if we reach that point, which promises will be broken and who will lose out? The lessons of history offer compelling evidence that political and social upheaval are often born of economic stagnation. King addresses these lessons with a multifaceted plan that involves painfulbut necessarysteps toward a stable and just economic future.