All Together Now presents an alternative vision, one which applauds individual freedom but emphasizes such freedoms are best realised with a more collectivist approach to public policy. The message is simple: we’re all in this together.

Bernstein’s book walks the reader though the history of our shift toward extreme individualism. His chapters describe the political and economic forces that have pushed us away from more collective thinking and action, and they elaborate the problems this transition has engendered. Having exposed the significant societal costs associated with the shift, the book introduces a new way of thinking about government and social policy (or, more accurately, re-introduces an old way): the power of collective action. In these pages, readers will find a welcome alternative, a new way to tap our “better selves” to meet the challenges we all face—together.