Book excerpt: For ordinary individuals, the goal of a steady job, a home of one's own, a comfortable retirement and better opportunities for their children is receding. In this brilliant, clear-eyed account, updated to include over 150 pages of new insights and analysis, Satyajit Das links past, present and future to show that it's not just our unrealistic expectations but poor choices that are to blame. The strategies after the Great Recession have failed, not least because such growth cannot continue indefinitely. The COVID-19 pandemic was merely the pin that pricked an ever-expanding bubble of fake prosperity and false hopes. It is the first trial of many to come. The solution - fundamental change - involves cost and is therefore ignored. Das explains why the ultimate adjustment, whether stretched out over time or in the form of another sudden collapse, will be life-changing.