Episode 2205: Edward Goldberg explains how the US Came to Lead (and Lose) the World

Is there anyone who still believes in America as a force for good in the world today? There’s that doddery old cold warrior Joe Biden, of course, and his younger globalizing sidekick, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. And then there’s Edward Goldberg, the author of The United States as Global Liberal Hegemon, who is still hawking the idea that the world needs America as the global policeman for peace and prosperity. You have to admire Goldberg’s chutzpah, I guess, given the catastrophic consequences of its “liberal” invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. But, in 2024, to be still imagining the US as any kind of hegemon, especially a “global liberal” one, seems at best a tragicomic nostalgia for a world that no longer exists.

Edward Goldberg is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Center for Global Affairs at New York University, USA. He is the author of Why Globalization Works For America: How Nationalist Trade Policies Are Destroying America (2020) and The Joint Ventured Nation: Why America Needs A New Foreign Policy (2016).

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe