Part 12/15:
Sorcin addresses fears raised by thinkers like Ray Dalio about the possibility of America’s empire ending. While he hopes it’s not imminent, he concedes that high debt levels, resource dependencies, and global competition threaten to push the US into a diminished role. He reflects on whether the Great Depression and the New Deal were catalysts for social change, questioning if similar upheavals are needed today to reconfigure the social contract.
He revisits how the 1929 crash dampened immediate calls for socialism compared to the 2008 financial crisis, which quickly prompted debates about the failures of capitalism. Sorcin suggests that a more sustainable future depends on growth, innovation, and honest recalibration—avoiding cycles of excess and retrenchment.