Alan Greenspan has argued that the essence of American capitalism is creative destruction. That our tolerance for change, for the new, for being willing to replace incumbents, even when painful, is the essence of what has moved the US to become, in a mere 400 years, the most powerful economic engine on the planet.
However, With respect to our governance, we have not been as tolerant or as flexible. We have clung to ideas and systems that have changed only under the most dire circumstances. The civil war changed us, but not entirely...The great depression changed us, but again, not entirely...just listen to Mitch McConnell last week looking to shred the social safety net.
As for the present, Donald Trump did not deliver all the problems we face today. He merely exploited them….just as demagogues often do.
And so as we once again face a huge disconnect between the reality of the world...a world of global integration, social and economic dislocation and division, siloed and self-reinforcing news and information, and a governmental system unattuned and unresponsive. All of this can’t help but leaveBen Fountain has examined this world from the first volleys of the 2016 election, right up until today. His observations are in his new work Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution
whole groups of people behind. Author and journalist
My conversation with Ben Fountain:
Can We Distance Ourselves From the Sins of Our Parents? A Conversation with the Daughter of George Wallace
If You Spend Hours Watching Cable News, You Are Just A Political Hobbyist
How Can We Avoid A New Generation of Brett Kavanaughs and Harvey Weinsteins
Australia's Climate Apocalypse: Up Close and Personal
Silicon Valley and the Quest for Immortality
Saving America From Trump, and Democrats From Themselves
It's Ok To Compromise and Maybe Even to Sellout Sometimes
Human Nature Always Finds A Way
Can the Generational Divide Lead Us Out Of Division?
Do You Need Further Reminders that This Is Not Your Father's Workplace
Why Most Health Care is Barking Up the Wrong Tree
William Greider R.I.P.
Something to Think About As You Eat that Holiday Steak........
Can America's Military Ever Recover?
From Useful Idiot to Working Asset
The Model For Taking It To The Streets
Why Quantum Mechanics Matter and Why You Should Care: A Conversation with Sean Carroll
What Happens to Ancestry Testing DNA?
The Best and the Brightest of America's Diplomats
Kickstarting a Better World
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