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:
Living History: A Conversation with Drew Gilpin Faust on the Pivotal Moments That Shaped Her and All of Us
Can Boomers Age Out Gracefully? A Conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig
What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life: A Conversation with Sally Jenkins
What We Imagine ”Out There” Reflects How We See Each Other
Why the Fentanyl Crisis Calls for a New War On Drugs
Oppenheimer is Not The First Movie About the Deveopment of the Atom Bomb...The First One Was a Bomb
How Women Changed Journalism: A conversation with Brooke Kroeger
AI May Tell Us More About the Cosmos Than Telescopes: A Conversation with Andrew Pontzen
How the Memory of the ’60s Civil Rights Era Is Being Co-Opted
Space: It’s Not Just for Governments Anymore: A Conversation with Ashley Vance
Living and Dying by the Myth of Rugged Individualism: A Conversation with Alissa Quart
Flying Green, Climate Justice, and Higher Prices
The Era of Social Media Journalism Is Over: A Conversation with Ben Smith
A Conversation with Hernan Diaz about his Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel ”Trust”
Cyber Weapons and a New Arms Race… Without Firing a Shot: A Conversation with Nicole Perlroth
Myth, Religion, Fascism… The Recipe for Right-Wing Politics: My conversation with Jeff Sharlet
The Value of Killing Time: A Conversation with Sheila Liming
Science Is Simply Curiosity Writ Large: A conversation with Dr. Suzy Sheehy
How the Police Became Untouchable: A conversation with Joanna Schwartz
Dissecting the Silicon Valley Bank Debacle: A conversation with Dean Baker and Brad DeLong
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