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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