Is There a Trade-Off Between Freedom and Power?

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Is there a tension or a trade-off between helping the unlucky versus rewarding the skillful and the hardworking? I think you would reward people who make innovations by giving them, let's say, even more consumption. Even that level of inequality while still making sure that there's not people in poverty and suffering. But if all human beings have intrinsic value, you don't have to be an Einstein for the application of these ideas.

Bhaskar Sunkara is a democratic socialist, political writer, founding editor of Jacobin, president of The Nation, and author of The Socialist Manifesto. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(13:24) – Socialism
(31:54) – Communism
(58:31) – Class struggle
(1:09:33) – Quality of life
(1:17:29) – Unions
(1:29:57) – Corruption
(1:43:15) – Freedom of speech
(1:51:38) – War
(1:59:24) – Karl Marx
(2:13:03) – Socialist vision
(2:18:28) – AI and socialism
(2:23:26) – Socialist policies
(2:48:45) – Billionaires
(2:54:43) – Bernie Sanders
(3:05:10) – AOC
(3:17:11) – 2024 presidential election
(3:22:05) – China
(3:31:06) – Jacobin
(3:38:35) – The Socialist Manifesto
(3:45:55) – Advice for young people
(3:49:28) – Meaning of life