Notes for Next Time
Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America
By Robert Kuttner
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About the Book
Why did we lose the broadly decent economy of the era after World War II? Why did reformers win all the important arguments about how to renew a good society, only to lose the politics? Why do democracies keep saving capitalism—only to watch plutocrats undermine democracy again and again? How did the failure to restore broad prosperity lead to political backlash and Trump? What lessons might we learn so that next time we win the arguments and the politics? And how do we make sure that there is a next time?
In Notes for Next Time, Robert Kuttner—veteran journalist, co-founder of The American Prospect, and one of America’s leading political economists—offers a sweeping and deeply personal account of how we got here and how we might still change course, after Trump and despite Trump. From the triumph of the New Deal through the rise of neoliberalism, and into the fraught politics of the present, Kuttner traces the recurring cycle in which the power of big money undermines the means of a decent life for ordinary people, both parties get corrupted, democracy falters, and the far right picks up the pieces.
Part memoir, part political history, and part urgent manifesto, Notes for Next Time draws on Kuttner’s five decades at the center of progressive thought and action—from advising lawmakers and labor leaders to reporting from the front lines of Washington and Wall Street, to building institutions. He revisits the pivotal moments when different choices could have led to a fairer economy and a stronger democracy—and lays out a hopeful path for rebuilding both.
Kuttner’s argument is clear and compelling: democracy and markets can only coexist when capitalism is constrained by public purpose. Without that balance, inequality deepens, trust collapses, and authoritarianism finds fertile ground. But he also finds reason for optimism that democracy may yet be rebuilt.
With the clarity of a journalist, the depth of a historian, and the conviction of an engaged citizen, Kuttner makes the case that the work of saving democracy and linking it to a just economy is not just for policy experts or politicians—it’s for all of us.Notes for Next Time is both a diagnosis and a rallying cry: a reminder that history doesn’t repeat by accident—and that next time, we still have a chance to get it right.
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Advance Praise
“An engaged witness, a pragmatic activist, a prominent journalist, Robert Kuttner has spent half a century in the thick of America’s tumult, from the demise of New Deal humanism to rise of MAGA nihilism. His lifetime of advancing the common good pays off with this book’s brave reckoning: the elections, the economic arguments, the flawed personalities, the noble aspirations, the set backs, and the remaining stakes – all of it grounded in his own quite moving personal history. Read this honest and compelling book to remember and to understand and to see the way forward with clarity and conviction. Kuttner has always been a tribune of political hope, a gift never more eloquently offered than here; never more needed than now.”
James Carroll, author of An American Requiem
“As a journalist, professor, agitator, organizer, and mentor, Bob Kuttner has contributed brilliantly to what he calls “the struggle for a decent America.” Now, in Notes for Next Time he recalls with arresting candor his insights and course corrections. This is a fascinating, gossipful chronicle that sheds much light on American politics and economics.”
Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
“Robert Kuttner has been a keen observer, commentator, and agitator during some of the most important political debates of the last half-century; this memoir reveals just how much he’s shaped it. I’ve personally learned so much from Bob over the years, and now readers can enjoy his humor, candor and integrity, too. With American journalism under attack, Bob’s voice is more essential than ever.”
Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us
“Robert Kuttner has known everyone, seen everything, and been part of every major debate about today’s American political economy—its successes, and its many failures and injustices. He has worked for the legendary IF Stone; written for publications ranging from Business Week to the New York Review of Books; founded magazines and research institutions that endure; and been a Senate investigator and run a radio station in between. In Notes for Next Time, he takes us on this wild journey with humor, heart, and grace—and with clear, specific guidance on what should come next. “
James Fallows, author of Our Towns and 11 other books
“For more than a generation, Robert Kuttner has been the tribune of America’s middle-class democracy, so he could be forgiven for being downbeat today. Instead, every page of this beautiful memoir, master class, and manifesto is imbued with an infectious faith in economic and political renewal. Notes for the Next Time is the book we need for our time.”
Jacob S. Hacker, Stanley Resor Professor of Political Science, Yale University, and co-author, Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality
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About the Author
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect. He holds the Meyer and Ida Kirstein Chair at Brandeis University’s Heller School, and is the author of thirteen previous books. He was a co-founder of the Economic Policy Institute and is a former columnist for BusinessWeek and the Boston Globe.
His other positions have included national staff writer on the Washington Post, economics editor of the New Republic, and chief investigator of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. He was educated at Oberlin, the University of California at Berkeley, and the London School of Economics. He holds honorary doctorates from Oberlin and Swarthmore. He lives in Boston.
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More Information
ISBN (Paperback): 979-8-9985796-8-4
ISBN (E-book): 979-8-9985796-9-1
Publication date: 03/23/2026
Pages: 303 pages
Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0 in
- POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy
- BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History
- POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / General
E-book: Kindle – Apple – Barnes & Noble – Bookshop
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Book Summary – Advance Praise – About the Author – More Information