The Permanent Problem

Brink Lindsey

Topics: Government · Society & Culture · History

No. 174 in Government▼3

In dozens of provocative essays published on his Substack and cross-posted here, Brink Lindsey has explored what John Maynard Keynes called humanity’s “permanent problem:” the quest to “live wisely and agreeably and well” with the vast resources and powers that capitalist prosperity has bestowed upon us. That quest, unfortunately, has gone awry in the 21st century. In Lindsey’s analysis, capitalism is now experiencing a “triple crisis”: a crisis of dynamism, as economic and technological progress had slowed; a crisis of inclusion, as a deep new class divide has opened up along educational lines; and a crisis of politics, our best hope for addressing the other two crises, as the values,...

Latest episodeResponding to the crisis of liberalism, Jonathan RauchAugust 12, 2026 · 71 min

0:001:11:23

1×

Latest episodes

1. Responding to the crisis of liberalism, Jonathan RauchAugust 12, 2026 · 71 min
2. Everyday ambition, everyday abundance, with Virginia PostrelAugust 5, 2026 · 67 min
3. Living near friends and family, with Phil LevinJuly 23, 2026 · 60 min
4. Liberalism's cycles of crisis and renewal, with Adrian WooldridgeJuly 15, 2026 · 64 min
5. Modern faith with Ryan AventApril 30, 2026 · 56 min
6. AI "psychology," with Jack LindseyApril 23, 2026 · 68 min
7. The future of innovation, with Andrew McAfeeMarch 26, 2026 · 64 min
8. MAGA intellectuals with Laura FieldMarch 19, 2026 · 66 min
9. Defending liberalism (and how not to), with Damon LinkerMarch 11, 2026 · 64 min
10. Abundance and the Democrats, with Jonathan ChaitJuly 2, 2025 · 58 min

Today's places

Also on: Apple Podcasts · Podcast website