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November 12, 2021

Title: Eastern Governments and Regimes are Crumbling
Topic: Nation Building Does Not Work. Why?

Discussed by Dr. Lawrence Mead
with Author

Dr. Lawrence Mead is a Professor of Politics at New York University and the host of the “Poverty and Culture” podcast.

He recently wrote: “Western efforts to promote democracy abroad have mostly failed. Our policymakers have simply ignored the cultural preconditions of freedom… Through migration, the non-West might finally defeat its past conquerors. That is far more to be feared than the fall of Kabul.”

Click here for the full article.

Questions/Issues Discussed:

What was the greater tragedy of Afghanistan pull-out by the Biden Administration: That the United States was defeated or that the Afghan government collapsed?

Why are regimes crumbling in much of the Middle East, Central America, and Africa? Dr. Mead explains what he means when he says: “They have an insecure basis because they don’t really have government by consent.”

Do government failures trigger waves of migration towards Western countries?

In countries where their governments collapse, is there often no difference between misrule and mayhem? Dr. Mead explains the difference.

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Title: The Rule of Law and Free Societies
Topic: Nation Building Does Not Work. Why?

Discussed by Dr. Lawrence Mead
with Author

Questions/Issues Discussed:

Have Western governments been able to make Democracy work because of the “rule of law”? Dr. Mead explains that in Western governments “ordinary people get to pass judgement on the rulers” and in other countries “the culture doesn’t support the civic values”.

Is the rule of law fading in the United States? Dr. Mead believes that many immigrants coming from non-Democratic countries have a hard time adjusting to the government in the US, especially illegal immigrants.

What are some of the cultural pre-conditions of free societies?

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Title: Patience and Persistence
Topic: Nation Building Does Not Work. Why?

Discussed by Dr. Lawrence Mead
with Author

Questions/Issues Discussed:

Is civility a core value necessary for freedom to flourish? Dr. Mead says: “This is the first thing a government must achieve” and uses the IRS as an example to explain.

How can we, as Americans, help immigrants learn how to live in a freedom-loving country? Dr. Mead warns that this cannot happen overnight; we must have patience and persistence.

Click here to order your copy of Dr. Mead’s book: “Burdens of Freedom: Cultural Difference and American Power”.

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