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:
Is Socialism Coming To America?
Are We So Divided that Secession Is The Only Answer?
Jimmy Carter: A Good and Decent Presidency
Is White Collar Corruption the New Normal?
The Reverend Michael B. Curry: Advice for Times Like This Week/Month/Year
Should Donald Trump Make Us Rethink the Reagan Legacy For the Worse?
Science and Politics are Now Linked
The Curse of the US/Britain Special Relationship
A Conversation with Brian Stelter
A Spouse Also Runs: A Conversation with Chasten Buttigieg
Remember When Diplomacy and the Arts Once Mattered?
McCarthy to Cohn to Trump: A conversation with Larry Tye
Gail Sheehy: In Memoriam
Only The Best People: Why The Best and The Brightest Sometimes Aren't
Why Are Millennials Feeling Left Behind?
Nixon and The Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution
Pete Hamill in His Own Words...and Voice
Marilyn
Why Are White Evangelicals Primed For Trump’s Fear-Mongering?
Can Local Journalism Rewire Democracy?
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