Flourish is a series of four short books, plus a larger summary edition. This is volume one. It is a top line criticism of American society from a largely conservative standpoint. It will be pleasing for libertarians to read, but it is simplistic and full of contradictions. But it’s really a kind of self-help book. Mark Bitz has determined eight levels of human organization, seven components of the path of fitness, and a laundry list of winning practices and winning perspectives. These might help some people put things in perspective. It is chock full of self-help wisdom such as “We may avoid truth, but we cannot avoid reality or the workings of the universe”.

Bitz says the USA lost out to Asian factories because of cheap labor. But he also says uncontrolled immigration has led to the depressing of wage rates in the USA. So without immigrants wages would be even more uncompetitive? Yet by his own research, only 14% are foreign born today. But he is against immigration for other reasons too. He is against multiculturalism, preferring fewer races, ethnicities and religions. He says we should encourage fit people to breed more, and the less fit and unmarried to breed less. He is very much against labor unions for raising wages and causing layoffs, the spread of Islam, and anything smacking of socialism. He says in 1965 everyone was fitter and unemployment was much less. He is all about personal freedom from government, but envies Singapore’s government-enforced savings that has led to near universal home ownership. Under the admitted dictatorship and very big government of founder Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore rose from Haitian poverty levels to top of the charts, leaving the USA in its dust when comparing rates of change.

He is not a Creationist. He spends dozens of pages recapping the history of the universe, the rise of lifeforms and how Darwinism works. He also appreciates the impact of human destruction of the biosphere, pollution, species loss and climate change. He even calls for a carbon tax. Carl Sagan gets more quotes than anyone in the book.

Flourish is a sermon of assumptions and generalizations, capable of being read from any pulpit, to the great satisfaction of most of the congregation. To that extent, it is a worthwhile book.

David Wineberg ( )