FT News Briefing

Martin Wolf on saving democratic capitalism: the ‘democratic recession’

Jun 3, 2023

Larry Diamond, a premier scholar in democracy studies and senior fellow at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute, joins Martin Wolf to explore the troubling global 'democratic recession'. They dissect the crucial difference between liberal and illiberal democracies and the risks of the latter. The conversation delves into the alarming effects of identity polarization and social media on democracy, as well as the implications of rising populism and disconnection between elites and the working class in the U.S., particularly as the 2024 election approaches.

43:28

Creator website

Episode guests

Larry Diamond

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The Playbook of the Autocrats

02:10

The Left of Center Is a Party of the College-Educated Elites

02:48

Can the Tide of Illiberalism Be Turned Back?

01:33

Intro

3min

Understanding Liberal vs. Illiberal Democracies

3min

The Democracy Dilemma

8min

Understanding the Dual Faces of Populism

3min

Shifts in American Democracy

14min

The Global Landscape of Democracy

12min

In this second episode of Martin Wolf’s series, the renowned FT columnist and economist speaks to Larry Diamond, a leading contemporary scholar in the field of democracy studies and a senior fellow in global democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Drawing on arguments in Martin’s latest book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, they discuss what’s behind a deepening global ‘democratic recession’.

Links

Martin Wolf: in defence of democratic capitalism

For Martin’s FT columns click here

For the FT review of Martin’s book click here

This episode is presented by Martin Wolf. The producer is Laurence Knight. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa and the sound engineer is Breen Turner. The FT's global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Clips: BBC, CNN, WION

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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