What Happened to Liberal Democracy? | Interview: Daron Acemoglu

It’s time to be honest: Jonah Goldberg can’t remember if he’s ever had a Nobel Prize-winning guest on The Remnant. If that shocks you, calm down. It’s called getting old. After today, however, Jonah can say with certainty that he has, as he is joined by Nobel laureate in economics Daron Acemoglu. Listen in as Jonah and Daron light up the Remnant bingo card like a Hanukkah bush, covering liberal democracy, community, subsidiarity, the welfare state, status, prosperity gaps, AI, automation, China, abundance, the working class, Zohran Mamdani, and the Democratic Party.

Show Notes:

—Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

—What Happened to Liberal Democracy?: Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity

—Daron Acemoglu in Financial Times: “Liberalism can win back the working class. Here’s how”

—Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History

—Jonah’s book Suicide of the West

The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant, audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah’s twice-weekly G-File—⁠click here⁠. Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here, and if you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices