Ezra Klein

But at a very fundamental level, that we are sitting here is unfair and that so many other people are... in conditions that are much worse, much more precarious, much more exploited is unfair. And one of the fundamental roles of government should not necessarily be to turn that unfairness into perfect equality, but to rectify that unfairness into a kind of universal dignity, right?

So people can have lives of flourishing. So I'd say that's one thing. The left is fundamentally more skeptical of capitalism and particularly unchecked forms of capitalism than the right. I always think this is hard to talk about because what we call unchecked capitalism is nevertheless very much supported by government.

So people can have lives of flourishing. So I'd say that's one thing. The left is fundamentally more skeptical of capitalism and particularly unchecked forms of capitalism than the right. I always think this is hard to talk about because what we call unchecked capitalism is nevertheless very much supported by government.

So people can have lives of flourishing. So I'd say that's one thing. The left is fundamentally more skeptical of capitalism and particularly unchecked forms of capitalism than the right. I always think this is hard to talk about because what we call unchecked capitalism is nevertheless very much supported by government.

So I think in a way you have both like markets are things that are enforced by government, whether they are, you know, how you set the rules of them is what ends up differing between the left and the right. But the left is tends to be more worried about the fact that.

So I think in a way you have both like markets are things that are enforced by government, whether they are, you know, how you set the rules of them is what ends up differing between the left and the right. But the left is tends to be more worried about the fact that.

So I think in a way you have both like markets are things that are enforced by government, whether they are, you know, how you set the rules of them is what ends up differing between the left and the right. But the left is tends to be more worried about the fact that.

that you could get rich building coal-fired power plants, belching pollution into the air, and you could get rich laying down solar panels, and the market doesn't know the difference between the two. And so there's a set of goals about regulating the unchecked potential of capitalism that also relates to sort of exploitation of workers. There's very fundamental questions about

that you could get rich building coal-fired power plants, belching pollution into the air, and you could get rich laying down solar panels, and the market doesn't know the difference between the two. And so there's a set of goals about regulating the unchecked potential of capitalism that also relates to sort of exploitation of workers. There's very fundamental questions about

that you could get rich building coal-fired power plants, belching pollution into the air, and you could get rich laying down solar panels, and the market doesn't know the difference between the two. And so there's a set of goals about regulating the unchecked potential of capitalism that also relates to sort of exploitation of workers. There's very fundamental questions about

How much people get paid, how much power they have. Again, the rectification of economic and other forms of power is very fundamental to the left. When you think about what the minimum wage is, I am a successful podcast host. When I go into a negotiation with the New York Times, I have a certain amount of market power in that negotiation because other firms want to hire me.

How much people get paid, how much power they have. Again, the rectification of economic and other forms of power is very fundamental to the left. When you think about what the minimum wage is, I am a successful podcast host. When I go into a negotiation with the New York Times, I have a certain amount of market power in that negotiation because other firms want to hire me.

How much people get paid, how much power they have. Again, the rectification of economic and other forms of power is very fundamental to the left. When you think about what the minimum wage is, I am a successful podcast host. When I go into a negotiation with the New York Times, I have a certain amount of market power in that negotiation because other firms want to hire me.

When you are a minimum wage worker, the reason we have a minimum wage is in part to rectify a power problem. A lot of workers do not have market power. They do not have a bunch of job opportunities. They are not working with firms. And by the way, without certain kinds of regulation, those firms would cartelize and make it so they can hold down wages anyway.

When you are a minimum wage worker, the reason we have a minimum wage is in part to rectify a power problem. A lot of workers do not have market power. They do not have a bunch of job opportunities. They are not working with firms. And by the way, without certain kinds of regulation, those firms would cartelize and make it so they can hold down wages anyway.

When you are a minimum wage worker, the reason we have a minimum wage is in part to rectify a power problem. A lot of workers do not have market power. They do not have a bunch of job opportunities. They are not working with firms. And by the way, without certain kinds of regulation, those firms would cartelize and make it so they can hold down wages anyway.

So trying to rectify power imbalances is, I think, another thing folks on the left take more seriously. That would be a start of things that I think broadly unite the—maybe let's call it the intuitions— I want to say that's a podcast answer, not a book. I'm sure I left a million things out here, but I'll start there.

So trying to rectify power imbalances is, I think, another thing folks on the left take more seriously. That would be a start of things that I think broadly unite the—maybe let's call it the intuitions— I want to say that's a podcast answer, not a book. I'm sure I left a million things out here, but I'll start there.

So trying to rectify power imbalances is, I think, another thing folks on the left take more seriously. That would be a start of things that I think broadly unite the—maybe let's call it the intuitions— I want to say that's a podcast answer, not a book. I'm sure I left a million things out here, but I'll start there.

The only thing I would say is that I do think this sort of the left likes big government, the right likes small government oversimplifies. The left is pretty comfortable with an expansive government that is trying to correct for some of the imbalances of power and injustices and imbalances of luck I talked about earlier.