Show Notes
Why is liberal democracy losing public confidence—and what would it take to renew it? Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu joins Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf to discuss.
Liberalism offered a glittering promise of shared prosperity, equality, democratic values and the free pursuit of knowledge. Once a tantalising beacon of hope, today it has begun to erode and decay at the hands of elitism, intolerance and rising autocracy.
One of the world’s most influential economists, Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu sits down with Martin Wolf to chart the rise and fall of liberal democracy – from the key thinkers that shaped liberal philosophy, to the subsequent growing distance between educated elites and working-class communities, increasing cultural divisions, and weakening of shared prosperity. Daron and Martin also examine the impact of AI, what democracies can learn from countries such as Denmark and Switzerland, and how societies should respond to rising authoritarianism without abandoning liberal principles.
One could say that liberalism is broken. So what comes next? Join us to hear bold, realistic, and hopeful new ideas from one of the preeminent thinkers of our age.
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