Liberalism is in Trouble | Aaron Bastani meets Francis Fukuyama | Downstream

Comments · 672

• NI

  @nickfiggis6396 · 4 years ago

  Great interview Aaron. Interesting to see Fukuyama fail to address multiple internal contradictions within his world view even now. He accepts that extreme wealth inequality gives a minority great power over the political system but he won’t countenance taxing extreme wealth, opting to rely on a system which regulates how they can spend the money. Later he says “powerful people won’t accept constraints on their power”. Does he think the ability for media barons and oligarchs to lobby for influence came about by accident? Apply retractions to the very powerful and they will find a way to end those restrictions- that’s essentially what the Thatcher, Reagan project was about. If someone has a gun they’ve used to shoot people are you going to tell them they aren’t allowed to shoot people with it anymore or are you going to take the gun off them? Extreme wealth inequality is extreme power inequality and you won’t fix the latter without changing the former.

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• DR

  @DredFonnelly · 4 years ago

  Really good interview Aaron! It's so weird learning this guy whose name looms so large in this sphere is literally just a garden variety liberal haha

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• 90

  @9000ck · 2 years ago

  I want to know if he's read Capitalist Realism. Fukuyama's preeminence as a political scholar shows how neoliberalism elevates the average and pedestrian over the passionate and brilliant.

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• MI

  @MikeL-7 · 4 years ago

  As soon as you ask these guys a question about curbing extreme individual wealth it’s like they’ve been asked if pigs can fly or can water be changed into wine.

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• ID

  @idaloup6721 · 4 years ago

  Aaron is a great great journalist. Very interesting ITW. From 🇨🇵

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• EM

  @emblaz3 · 4 years ago

  Nice one! Aaron's respectful probing questions are great for understanding the ideology of Francis and challenging him - not trying to catch him out but instead make him defend his position effectively as possible to probe the pitfalls in his arguments. Novara is out there to inform, educate and analyse.

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• CO

  @colinthompson3111 · 4 years ago

  I give Mr. Bastiani a lot of praise for this interview. It was the best interview I have watched all Sunday.

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• AN

  @angeloboccato9742 · 4 years ago

  An amazing interview, Aaron, and kudos to you and to the whole Novara Media team for the fantastic work you do.

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• TH

  @thomaspickin9376 · 4 years ago

  It's funny watching Aaron sometimes in the interview. Fukuyama makes a vague statement and Aaron then just jumps in and expands it into something much more specific "You do agree with me on this thing I believe right?", (like taking energy back into public ownership) and he's always like "No... That's not what I meant...".

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• SC

  @scara69 · 4 years ago

  The movie that captures the end of history best would have to be the Matrix because presumably it's set far in the future, but when they chose to simulate the world, they simulate the USA in 1999, which was arguably the peak of the liberal era, and in the movie it literally is the end-point of human history and it just drags unsatisfactorily on and on.

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• FU

  @futureshocked · 2 years ago

  Why are people even still giving this dude air time?

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• XV

  @Xvvvi · 1 year ago

  I'M SO CURIOUS WHAT HE HAS TO SAY NOW

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