Robert Kuttner: FDR's Legacy and President Biden's New Deal Opportunity

When President Joe Biden took office, the problems the new president faced were similar to the challenges faced by another U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: decreasing opportunity for the average American, disproportionate power of the mega-wealthy, and a starkly divided political system. To help address these issues nearly a century ago, FDR launched The New Deal, forever changing American society. To longtime political analyst Robert Kuttner, the similarities between 2022 and 1932 means President Biden has a similar opportunity to transform the country through major public investments.

In his latest book, Going Big, Kuttner draws on the striking similarities between the circumstances of FDR and Biden, including the major crossroads of American politics that marked both their terms. With democratic backsliding, deep partisan divides and the ever-growing power of corporate interests, Kuttner says President Biden’s vision for the future will have critical implications for the future of the country—and, just like the New Deal, an army of opposition determined to maintain the status quo.

Join us, as Kuttner explains what is at stake for America in 2022 and the opportunity President Biden has at this unprecedented time in the nation’s history.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

SPEAKERS

Robert Kuttner

Co-Founder and Co-Editor, The American Prospect; Ida and Meyer Kirstein Chair, Brandeis University; Author, Going Big: FDR's Legacy, Biden's New Deal, and the Struggle to Save Democracy

In Conversation with Arlie Hochschild

 Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of California Berkeley

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 31st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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