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:
Silicon Valley: The Origin Story...Live As It Happened
Driven to Succeed...A Conversation with Dr. Ned Hallowell
Nationalism and Culture Need Not be A Zero Sum Game
THE AGE OF POLITICAL PERSUASION IS OVER To Attract the Next Generation, Politics Must Be About Advocacy, Organization, and Winning
Groucho Was Right!
Freedom of the Press and Freedom From Fake News
Can Something That's Popular, Still Be Creative and Good?
A Dinner in Camelot: How Far We Have Fallen
The Ultimate Silicon Valley Scam
Things Can Always Get Worse in America...And They Often Have
The Country's Collapsing...and the Ratings are Great
Conversations with Anthony Bourdain
Suicide Among The Best And The Brightest: Portraits of Resilience
Bobby Kennedy May Have Been The Last Genuine Progressive
The American Tailspin: Can We Ever Pull Up?
Humans at Our Best and Worst
Railroads and Highways and Ports, Oh My
Robin
We Think It's Stormy Now.....1968 Was Far Worse....And We Survived
If Gina Haspel is confirmed, will CIA torture begin anew?
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Jim & Bill (It‘s Another Day)
HauntingLive
Dr. Paul’s Worldviews
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Daily