What is classical liberalism? We get into the weeds with Joshua Reed Eakle of Project Liberal. Hearing “Project Liberal,” you might anticipate something cooked up by the American Democratic Party. But this is different: Joshua is making the case for a political and economic system governed by principles of free trade and competition. As per his own admission, it’s not a system premised on equality. It’s an assumption of the classical liberal worldview that under conditions of economic competition, not everyone will prosper. Rather, those whose skills the market favors will thrive, and those who can’t compete will live in relative want. When Joshua talks about classical liberalism embracing change, he’s pointing to its dynamic responsiveness to the development of technology, wants of the consumer, skills of the workforce, and more. That’s a responsiveness, though, ungoverned by human needs (as opposed to the wants of those with money to spend).

Is there a better way? We make the case for social democracy in our debate with our guest, and we think you’ll be interested. You can listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more.

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