Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Why Democracy Needs a New Operating System (with K. Sabeel Rahman)

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May 6, 2025
K. Sabeel Rahman, a legal scholar and former advisor in the Biden administration, joins to discuss the urgent need for a new approach to democracy. They dive into the repercussions of trickle-down economics and the failures of past governance. Rahman emphasizes that simply restoring old systems won't suffice; instead, we need innovative reforms to ensure government serves the people effectively. They explore how corporate interests have threatened democracy and advocate for structural changes that prioritize community needs and equity.
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INSIGHT

Democracy Requires New Government Model

  • Effective democracy requires government that restrains both state and private authoritarian power.
  • We need a government that is faster, fairer, and capable of delivering real economic change.
INSIGHT

Biden Era's Regulatory Shift

  • The Biden administration worked to incorporate equity and competition in regulation.
  • They confronted decades of neoliberal limits that prioritized corporate profits over broader social goals.
INSIGHT

Structural Reform Needed for Democracy

  • Constitutional structures like the Senate and Supreme Court override majority power and constrain democracy.
  • We need a reconstruction around proportional representation and updated administrative agencies.
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