Bungacast /525/ Neoliberalism in One Country? ft. Branko Milanovic
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Dec 9, 2025 Branko Milanovic discusses his insights on the rise of national market liberalism and its impact on global inequality. He analyzes how figures like Xi Jinping, Putin, and Trump share political trajectories shaped by these changes. The conversation delves into the concept of homoploutia, where elites blend high labor and capital incomes, reshaping societal hierarchies. Milanovic also explores the historical context of China's reforms and challenges assumptions about global democratization, all while questioning the effectiveness of current political movements.
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Bookshop Meeting That Sparked A Counterfactual
- Branko Milanovic recounts meeting Jeffrey Sachs in a bookstore in 1989 where Sachs said he wanted to "bury" socialist economies rather than save them.
- Milanovic used the moment to imagine an alternative world of mixed economies blending state and market reforms.
Two-Level Global Transformation
- The Great Global Transformation unfolds on two levels: the interstate rise of Asia and the reshuffling of individuals' global income ranks.
- Rising Asian incomes move many citizens up globally while depressing Western middle-class ranks, fueling domestic political tensions.
Commerce Can Pacify Or Polarize States
- Trade can create a balance-of-power peace as Adam Smith suggested by leveling technology and military capacity between nations.
- But historical theories from Hobson, Luxemburg and Lenin warn that competition for markets can also produce conflict.
