Fareed Zakaria Thinks Steve Bannon Got One Thing Right
About this episode
In a live conversation at Symphony Space marking the 'Age of Revolutions' paperback, Zakaria argues we have entered a new political age defined by identity rather than economics. His central claim — one he says Steve Bannon grasped early — is that politics shifted from a left-right economic divide to an open-versus-closed cultural one: voters increasingly sort by cultural, racial and gender identity, not income. He cites Sweden, Germany and France, where right-wing populism thrives despite generous welfare states, as proof economics can't explain the populist wave. They discuss how smartphones and algorithmic media collapsed old gatekeepers, empowering risk-seeking outsiders while leaving the meritocratic center-left 'attentionally outmatched.' Zakaria defends meritocracy as an improvement over the old WASP elite but criticizes its smugness, and argues the left must become populist in tone, defend legal immigration, and reconnect with non-college voters — while warning the nationalist right's project denies freedom and choice.