Nobel-Prize Winning Economist Daron Acemoglu on Musk, AI and Democracy | The Mishal Husain Show

Liberal democracy faces a profound crisis rooted in the center-left’s shift away from the working class toward identity-focused, top-down social engineering. This alienation, compounded by stagnant real wages and the economic pressures of post-industrial society, has left traditional communities vulnerable to populist alternatives. To restore shared prosperity, policymakers must adopt a "working-class liberalism" that prioritizes economic inclusivity and robust tax reform, including taxing capital income at source to discourage excessive automation. Furthermore, the current trajectory of AI, dominated by a hubristic pursuit of artificial general intelligence by tech titans, requires urgent democratic intervention. Instead of deferring to corporate agendas, society must redirect technological development toward human-complementary tools that empower workers and broaden democratic participation. Rebuilding trust requires a new governing philosophy that unites citizens around shared moral values rather than deepening existing cultural divisions.