Today, I’m joined by economist and lateral-thinker Nicholas Gruen to probe the fault lines yawning beneath liberal democracy. Together, we examine how the internet’s kerosene amplifies wish-casting, why monarchic fantasies seduce tech elites, and what bottom-up meritocracy - citizen juries, sortition, and ‘small-scale hacks’ - might offer a polity that feels increasingly unmoored. We grapple with Burnham, Yarvin, and the uneasy marriage between markets, monopolies, and truth-telling institutions, asking whether stability can be coaxed from competitive chaos.

Nicholas Gruen is an economist and commentator on economic reform and innovation. He is the CEO of Lateral Economics and a visiting professor at King's College London's Policy Institute. You can find his work on X and Substack:

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.alexkaschuta.com/subscribe