How Capitalism Lost the Working Class

Today’s guest is the Niskanen Center’s Brink Lindsey, whose connection to Reason magazine goes back decades and who for years worked at the Cato Institute.

His new book is called The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing, and it raises important questions about life in the 21st century. Thanks to capitalism, he argues, we’ve essentially conquered poverty, but are progress and growth slowing down? People in advanced economies are increasingly pessimistic about the future, populism is on the rise, and many social indicators are trending in a negative direction.

Nick Gillespie talks with him about how to restore economic and cultural dynamism, his intellectual journey, and what a brighter future might look like.

0:00—Introduction

0:56—Mass abundance and prosperity

6:20—The effects of globalization

12:05—Mass affluence and pessimism

15:01—Slowing rates of innovation

24:10—Capitalism and its cultural contradictions

31:06—Fears of conformism and elites

39:42—Declining fertility rates

48:52—Religion and community

59:08—Does Lindsey consider himself a libertarian?

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