Democratic socialists are having a moment. But can they actually remake the Democratic Party — and the American economy — in their image? My guest today, Bhaskar Sunkara, is longtime democratic socialist, and he makes the case that socialism has a universal appeal that transcends our current politics and will ultimately triumph against capitalism.
- 0:00 Intro
- 1:24 The rise of democratic socialism
- 5:00 Why is this a breakthrough moment for Democratic Socialism?
- 8:24 Class Realities: The demographics of socialist voters
- 9:26 The intellectual foundations of the American left
- 11:02 What socialists want: Affordable housing, Medicare for All
- 15:55 Socialist housing policy: construction, rent control, public housing
- 18:17 The socialist approach to AI and technological change
- 22:16 The case for unions
- 24:18 Is Democratic Socialism compatible with capitalism?
- 25:57 Class conflict vs. the identity politics of the wokeness era
- 29:00 The ideological conflict between Hillary Clinton liberals and the Bernie Sanders left
- 30:40 This Socialist wants the left to stop hating America
- 36:38 Why Israel-Palestine and anti-imperialism are central issues for Democratic Socialists
- 45:51 Luigi Mangione and the illiberal left
- 50:37 Is Zohran Mamdani a moderate?
- 51:54 Was Joe Biden's presidency a socialist experiment?
- 55:42 Raising taxes to expand the welfare state
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
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