Adrian Wooldridge in conversation with Ann Bernstein
- In this CDE Conversations with Ann Bernstein, Adrian Wooldridge, one of the world’s leading journalists, discussed the role of the state, crony capitalism, the politics of migration, meritocracy, the political influence of US CEOs, and why Donald Trump is bad for capitalism.
- According to Wooldridge, many modern states have overestimated what they can achieve, thereby creating ‘a revolution of rising expectations’ that resulted in widespread disillusionment with governments. The backlash has produced radical calls in many parts of the world to completely reorder the state, potentially endangering democracy.
- European politics, once characterised by an openness to immigrants, has shifted dramatically. Parties that oppose immigration are doing well, and many parties that once were in favour of immigration, like Labour in Britain, are now seeking to restrict it.
- Wooldridge sees meritocracy as a way to allocate resources justly, which then drives productivity improvements and makes everyone better off. Meritocracy can sometimes go wrong, but this can be dealt with to ensure fairness and rising prosperity.
- Donald Trump is deliberately eroding the rules-based framework that saves capitalism from itself. All the regular, predictable rules promoting transparency and reducing corruption are being weakened by the Trump administration, creating a huge increase in uncertainty and encouraging unethical behaviour.
- American CEOs who backed Trump’s presidential campaign must now rediscover their backbone and act to strengthen the constraints that limit the power of the executive and which Trump is steadily undermining.
