David Frum: Who or what will replace labor unions as the offsetting or special interest group to oppose capitalism? He says it's more or less impossible to imagine a world in which you have protection for large segments of the population that doesn't roughly resemble labor unions. Frum: The way that Niskanen has moved, and in particular, people like Brink Lindsey together with Steve Teles have moved towards endorsement by smart people on the center right.
The one concept most valuable for understanding the news today might be Henry Farrell’s theory of weaponized interdependence. Whether it’s China’s influence over the NBA, the US ban of Huawei, or whether social media should be regulated on a global scale, Henry Farrell has played a key role articulating how global economic networks can enable state coercion.
Tyler and Henry discuss these issues and more, including what a big tech breakup would mean for security and privacy, why political economics suggests Facebook’s Oversight Board won’t work, what Italy might reveal about China’s future, his family connection to Joyce, his undying affection for My Bloody Valentine, why Philip K. Dick would have reveled in QAnon, why Twitter seems left-wing, and being a first generation academic blogger.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded October 7th, 2019 Other ways to connect