Fareed Zakaria on ‘Age of Revolutions’ and the lessons of history for today

Fareed Zakaria, a CNN host, a Washington Post columnist and a veteran foreign policy observer, has written a new book that examines how revolutions – past and present – often provoke backlash. Zakaria joins Post columnist Max Boot to discuss his book, “Age of Revolutions” and the lessons history holds for today.

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[karinetyrrell]

Thank you, Fareed, for setting off a "revolution" in my head. Now the "Glorious Revolution" in 1688 in Britain makes complete sense The power of the monarchy had to be limited and controlled by the people, to allow Britain to become preeminent in the world, until its child, the United States, took over, and dispensed with monarchy. You demonstrate why the United States has been so successful. As an immigrant from India, you contributed your intellect to your adopted country!

[joiedevie]

This is fascinating discourse and brings to light the recurring role of identity in the US. While much of Zaharia's apologia, particularly in the international arena, is sound, his assertions on domestic US history are often reductive and specious. At 20:42, Boot summarizes Zakaria's treatise that the recent surge in identity politics was largely engendered by the accretion of the middle class, where an unprecedented satisfaction in material goods allowed people time to translate their political identities from class to race.

In his response to Boot's statement, Zakaria agrees and describes "women, blacks, and hispanics" as groups who found time to focus around their identities mid-20th-century due to the middle class emergence. The fact is there has not been a moment in US history when those cohorts did not have to think of themselves in terms of identity simply because the socio-political structure of the nation from its inception gave them no choice. As much as the right-wing disparages the left for identity politics, this nation was founded on identity politics from the 3/5's clause of the Constitution down to every laws that restrained blacks from full participation as citizens, which were not addressed adequately until the mid-1960s. Women did not have the vote until 1923. No one has been the author and implementer of identity politics better than white male elites over the vast majority of this nation's history.

If anything precipitated the focused and efficacious fight for civil rights in this nation, it was the advent of broadcast media. When the brutal suppression of protestors for civil rights in Birmingham, AL was broadcast around the world, it was one of the most empowering moments for the nation's advancement in civil rights. It was also one of the most embarrassing for a post WWII US that found itself competing on the world stage for alignment by emerging former colonies against a communist competitor. But both the protest and the suppression on display in the US were built on the identity politics that had been conceived and enabled since 1787.

Zakaria has a reasonable argument to make in noting the emergence of identity surpassing economic interests these days. But this is not the first time that this has happened nor is it a recent phenomenon. WEB DuBois lamented often over the failure of economically disadvantaged whites and freed slaves to find common cause in their economic struggle during and post-Reconstruction. Identity politics were too embedded to allow that to happen more than 100 years before today's right-wing started acting as if the construct was some recent liberal concoction.  

The best of what Zakaria offers is his analysis is in the foreign context. If it is a "lens of history" through which Zakaria is trying to explain today, then based on his explanation of US history he proves that hindsight is not always 20-20.

[nathanngumi]

A great discussion, can't wait to read the book!

[dhickey]

Thank you for the video. I'm a bit surprised there's an admission by Fareed that he doesn't understand why this struggle hasn't faded out. It would have been worthwhile to dig a little deeper and attempt to find why half the country feels the way it does politically, socially, economically. A revolution has two sides.

[ericchang]

Venice and Florence were the first merchant Republic in Europe, not Dutch.

[luisalvarez]

I agree about the importance of the Netherlands but it did not happen in a void. Before that there was the rennaissance and the Italian city states, their innovations in banking and trade, there was burgundy and the northern rennaissance, Bruges and Ghent, the opening of trading routes by the Portuguese, and the German reformation. Without these thre would not have been the Dutch.

[jiahan]

Thanks for the candid discussion. I have been a regular reader of WaPo column and CNN GPS. I think that the problem is deeper. It is a political philosophy problem.

[sakthi]

Really insightful!
I would add the "American Dream" as an additional factor, It is produces record breaking success in both good and bad

[stevematthews]

Conservatism always defends existing wealth and power against change. So the fact that pre-industrial conservatives defended land ownership and monarchy as the foundation of the economy and now they defend capital and industry is not contradictory. Whoever holds the wealth and power is conservative (ie: don't change anything), whereas a liberal philosophy is to promote change and new ideas, even when it might occasionally wander into being nonsensically utopian.

[eliseleonard]

Not sure how you can discuss the growing disaffection in democracies without putting the inevitable effects of neoliberal policies front and center. Weakening of state power and social protections, huge wealth inequality, and a power shift from governments to corporations.

[gardenfornutrition]

Such a good discussion with a moderate view point. Both the left and right have valid concerns. It is good to see a balanced discussion.

[newyorkskier]

Wow!! Very informative. I would never have guessed Nederland was/is such a great power. I love to visit Holland, but now I can look at its Citizens with increased awe

[karinetyrrell]

As an immigrant, I also love America, my adopted spiritual home. I trust the innate sense of decency of Americans to stand on the side of democracy and personal freedoms, and reject Trumpism and its reactionary cult worship of an amoral leader.

[AaronMiller-rhrj]

Great question from someone who would know from experience.

[jayashreemukherjee]

The book is very expensive for Indian readers as seen from Amazon.
Please get an Indian edition..

[JonathanLoganPDX]

Superb conversation! Tariq Nails the USA's critical Post-Modern vs Traditional/MAGA family cult predicament head-on.

[sandravaughn]

I think you miss an important point…maybe you will discuss it later, but… the strength of the stock market is not a realistic reflection of the strength of the economy of the millions of average Americans who do not own stock, and who are struggling from paycheck to paycheck. That is the point that is not taken into consideration when we talk about public dissatisfaction. I’m a lifeline progressive, and I supported Obama, but the bail out of banks, when tens thousands of people lost their homes with no help was provided to them certainly feeds this dissatisfaction. Now we see millions of people, disaffected by the Biden administrations slow response to the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians, my current dissatisfaction as well. Dems have to do better, and address these issues in a meaningful way.

[manmohanmehta]

Looking forward to your book with me . There may be more books of study of History on wide sweep, I have been impressed by Amitav Ghosh on various stories about globalisation, which went with industrial revolution, imperialism domination and so on . On the whole despite these the humanity has gained.
Now we are in most creative period of history that all can be well and happy. Only I hope we can take the way of pursuation and shun fighting.
We are just an insignificant pale blue dot and must take everyone togather.
We have not done so bad .
Hopefully wishful thinking.

[universaltruth]

Support sharia law in america
Support human rights in america

[thomasthomasphilp]

Without exploitation of raw materials from former european colonies, industralization wouldn't have proceeded.