Economics Explored

How to Defeat the Dictators w/ Charles Dunst, Asia Group - EP180

Episode Summary

How can democracies reinvigorate themselves to triumph over authoritarianism? Does the West need to decouple from China? These and other questions are considered in Economics Explored episode 180. Foreign affairs expert Charles Dunst talks about his new book Defeating the Dictators with show host Gene Tunny. Among other things, Charles and Gene talk about the potential benefits of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), such as Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s COVID-19 vaccine plan.

Episode Notes

How can democracies reinvigorate themselves to triumph over authoritarianism? Does the West need to decouple from China? These and other questions are considered in Economics Explored episode 180. Foreign affairs expert Charles Dunst talks about his new book Defeating the Dictators with show host Gene Tunny. Among other things, Charles and Gene talk about the potential benefits of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), such as Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s COVID-19 vaccine plan. 

Please get in touch with any questions, comments and suggestions by emailing us at contact@economicsexplored.com or sending a voice message via https://www.speakpipe.com/economicsexplored. 

About Charles Dunst

Charles Dunst is deputy director of research & analytics at The Asia Group, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a contributing editor of American Purpose. He is the author of Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman (Hodder & Stoughton, February 2023). 

For further information about Charles, check out https://www.charlesdunst.com/. 

What’s covered in EP180

• What is the Asia Group and what does it do? [1:35]
• Is democracy no longer seen as the path to prosperity in developing economies? [5:28]
• What are the most important organizing principles for a democratic system? [11:38]
• Accountability and the lack of trust in government [16:34]
• Best practices for running a democratic country in the 21st century [21:36]
• Too much money in politics in the US [25:41]
• Does the West need to decouple from China? [27:37]
• The role of public private partnerships (PPPs) such as Operation Warp Speed [32:27]
• How will dictators be defeated if we govern ourselves better? [34:59]
• The importance of engaging in the conversation through social media and local governance [38:32]
• Inequality and the Dream Hoarders [39:00]

Links relevant to the conversation

Defeating the Dictators (Please buy the book via this link to support the show):

https://amzn.to/3liQrjx

Matthew Engel’s FT article “The foreign states that own Britain’s railways”:

https://www.ft.com/content/e57c5fd0-bf54-11e9-9381-78bab8a70848

Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It

https://amzn.to/3LvCOrL

Track Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio:

https://www.capitoltrades.com/politicians/P000197

https://twitter.com/PelosiTracker_