The Permanent Problem

In dozens of provocative essays published on his Substack and cross-posted here, Brink Lindsey has explored what John Maynard Keynes called humanity’s “permanent problem:” the quest to “live wisely and agreeably and well” with the vast resources and powers that capitalist prosperity has bestowed upon us. That quest, unfortunately, has gone awry in the 21st century.In Lindsey’s analysis, capitalism is now experiencing a “triple crisis”: a crisis of dynamism, as economic and technological progress had slowed; a crisis of inclusion, as a deep new class divide has opened up along educational lines; and a crisis of politics, our best hope for addressing the other two crises, as the values, norms, and institutions of liberal democracy are now embattled around the world.Beginning in January 2024, Lindsey started the Permanent Problem podcast to supplement his ongoing essay series. The podcast focuses on capitalism’s triple crisis – and especially on the prospects for defusing the crisis and

Brink Lindsey hosts The Permanent Problem, a government podcast with 10 episodes published.

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  Episode #20

  Responding to the crisis of liberalism, Jonathan Rauch

  Aug 12, 20261h 11m

  Liberal values and institutions now face aggressive challenges from both right and left extremism, so how should defenders of the embattled liberal center respond? It's become clear now that the question exposes an...

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  Episode #19

  Everyday ambition, everyday abundance, with Virginia Postrel

  Aug 5, 20261h 7m

  Virginia Postrel has made a career out of seeing the extraordinary in the everyday -- from the growing importance of "look and feel" in the products we buy, to the power of glamour to arouse our sense of longing, to...

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  Episode #18

  Living near friends and family, with Phil Levin

  Jul 23, 20261 hour

  America is experiencing an epidemic of loneliness: marriage and birth rates, the number of close friendships, time spent with friends, and community involvement more broadly are all in decline. Phil Levin is helping to...

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  The Permanent Problem

  Liberalism's cycles of crisis and renewal, with Adrian Wooldridge

  Jul 15, 20261h 4m

  In the heady days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many imagined that we had arrived at the “end of history” now that liberal democratic capitalism had chased all ideological competitors from the field. Just a...

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  Episode #16

  Modern faith with Ryan Avent

  Apr 30, 202656 min

  All of the blessings of modernity, Ryan Avent argues in a fascinating new book, rest on faith. It is our faith in others, our ability to trust strangers we will never meet, that makes possible the large-scale...

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