Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz talks about the “myth” of the American Dream, the economic noose around Gen Z’s neck, and what business leaders really think about Donald Trump

Stiglitz said he was “sobered” by the protests rocking his institute and many others, and reflected on his history as a civil rights activist in the 1960s. “Believe it or not, I marched with Martin Luther King in Washington in August 1963, and I remember him saying, ‘We must not be shy.’i have a dream“This speech influenced his thinking at a young age and had a profound effect on the direction of our country, at least for a while,” he said.

This plaintive tone applies to much of Stiglitz’s career as a left-leaning economist and author who finds himself in increasingly lonely company. Pro-capitalist progressivepoll Show widely One Dissatisfaction with capitalism There is a growing opinion among millennials and Gen Z that socialism is not the answer. A good example of this is the surprising electoral victories of so-called democratic socialists Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders in the past decade. However, Stiglitz has argued that socialism is not the answer, and that rather, well-regulated capitalism is desperately needed. At the same time, he has criticized the far-right shift in American politics and business culture, even to the point of questioning the influence of Martin Luther King’s famous speech.

“Neoliberal capitalism is eating itself,” says Stiglitz luckHe argues that it benefits dishonest people and leads to a lack of trust. In his view, it is unsustainable because it puts self-interest above a sense of community and the interests of society as a whole. “We are now seeing it start to unravel,” he added.

He argues that populism and authoritarianism are on the rise in countries everywhere that are inadequately prepared to counter the neoliberal shift and protect their citizens from the market. Of course, he fears Trump’s reelection in November: “I think it would be terrible for the economy, and even worse for our fundamental rights.” But he also says Americans are underestimating the international community’s reaction. Businessmen abroad have expressed “a certain amount of anxiety” about Trump’s reelection, he says, “and they’re saying they feel more and more anxious as the election gets closer.”

Business Wolf Freedom

The title of Stiglitz’s book is an implicit callback to the Austrian economist who was one of Reagan’s favorite thought leaders. Friedrich Hayekpreached Free Market Efficiency In particular, his masterpiece “The Road to SlaveryAs Stiglitz writes, freedom has multiple meanings, and in 21st century America there is “freedom for wolves and death for sheep.” (Stiglitz writes that this is Isaiah BerlinAn anti-communist, pro-capitalist liberal intellectual during the Cold War.

Stiglitz’s book argues that the country’s neoliberal shift since the administration of Ronald Reagan has made the American Dream out of reach for everyone, especially Gen Z. luck The media loves to tell “nice stories” like 19th century youth novelists Horatio Alger: The notion that upward mobility is rewarded reinforces the idea that anyone can get ahead if they work hard enough. “But from a social science perspective, the question is, how likely is that to happen? And it’s very unlikely,” he adds, citing data showing the U.S. fare worse than any other developed country. “I would say that’s a myth.”

But the American Dream is also about freedom, including the freedom to be free from harm and to live up to one’s potential. “Then again, America is in much worse shape,” he said, specifically pointing to the gun violence epidemic that is plaguing the country. “The key freedom is freedom from fear. And we teach our kids from a very young age to be afraid.”

“The gap between what kids are taught and the reality is huge,” he added. “Kids entering the workforce are raised with this idea of ​​the American Dream, and they know it’s going to be really hard to get a home… They know the average college graduate has $30,000 to $40,000 in student loans, so it’s going to be around their necks for a long time.”

Stiglitz did not respond to a question about police use of excessive force in breaking up the Colombian protests, citing a long tradition of peaceful protest dating back to Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, but also noted tensions with civil disobedience that may be justified by certain causes. “We understand that there are tensions between different freedoms,” he said, adding that he hopes for civil dialogue that usually leads to a peaceful solution.

Business Signal Forcing

While he cautioned that he hadn’t studied the current housing market in detail, he did study mortgage lending, a “peculiar system” that hasn’t changed since the 2008 crash, in which the government takes on about 90% of the risk through underwriting. “What’s surprising to me is that [is that] “Sixteen years later, the financial side hasn’t really gotten better.” We still have a system in place where most of the profits go to the financial sector and most of the risks continue to be borne by the government. In other words, if this were a traffic light, it might be flashing yellow but not directing traffic efficiently.