Can ‘working-class liberalism’ heal liberal democracy?

Political systems are in crisis across Europe, the United States, and other countries. In his new book, “What Happened to Liberal Democracy?,” Nobel economics laureate and MIT professor Daron Acemoglu examines the political, economic, and technological causes for the crisis in liberal democracy, including rising inequality and new social divisions in post-industrial societies. As a path forward, he proposes a “working-class liberalism” which prioritizes shared prosperity, empowers communities, and accommodates experimentation and ideological diversity.  

On October 13, as part of the Alan and Jane Batkin International Leaders Forum, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings welcomed Acemoglu for a lecture on his arguments about liberalism and democracy and a conversation with Brookings experts Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Constanze Stelzenmüller.