Riskgaming

How America holds it all together

Feb 22, 2025

Michael Beckley, a Professor at Tufts University and author, joins to discuss the striking divide in America between thriving cities and struggling rural areas. He argues that America's decentralized institutions are both its strength and vulnerability, making it challenging to maintain industrial bases. The conversation touches on U.S. foreign policy, the implications of rising geopolitical tensions with China, and strategies to revitalize neglected regions. Beckley emphasizes the importance of finding balance in economic approaches to foster prosperity for all.

40:28

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Episode guests

Michael Beckley

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Quick takeaways

America faces a stark economic divide, thriving urban centers contrast sharply with struggling rural areas suffering from deindustrialization and job loss.

Despite domestic challenges, America's decentralized institutions and innovative economy maintain significant global power and geopolitical influence amidst shifting foreign policy dynamics.

Deep dives

The Urban-Rural Divide

The growing economic disparity between urban centers and rural regions is a critical issue facing America. Over the last two decades, urban areas, particularly major cities, have experienced significant job and income growth, while rural communities have faced deindustrialization and decline. This urban-rural divide is exacerbated by a lack of economic diversification in rural regions, often reliant on a single industry or employer, making them vulnerable to economic shocks. As wealth concentrates in urban areas, younger populations migrate towards cities for opportunities, leaving rural towns in depopulation and despair.

Intro

4min

The Paradox of Power: Domestic Dysfunction and Global Strategy

17min

U.S.-China Geopolitical Tensions

6min

Navigating Inequality: Urban vs. Rural Challenges in America

6min

Navigating America's Rural Dilemmas

7min

There are two sides of America. One is the country’s world-leading innovation centers, which offer the highest salaries and potential wealth creation anywhere in the world. The other is the bleak deindustrialized hinterlands where former mines and factories once dotted the landscape. Here, middle class jobs have been casualized or wiped out entirely, leaving behind a depressing and well-trodden tale of economic loss.

Joining host Danny Crichton and Riskgaming director of programming Laurence Pevsner is Michael Beckley, a professor at Tufts University and the author of the recent essay, “The Strange Triumph of a Broken America.” He argues that the decentralized institutions that make America strong are also precisely its most vulnerable feature. Creative destruction is extremely useful in fast-moving fields like software, but is anathema to building an industrial base where capital assets are key. How can America balance between the two without losing both?

We talk about the vagaries of America’s domestic and foreign policies, how to balance decentralization with creating pathways toward greater prosperity, whether America is returning to isolationism and finally, what we can do with left behind regions to return them to prominence and success.

Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christopher Gates⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Ko