Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
250 years of America - from the "shining city upon a hill" to "America First." In this wide-ranging interview, Columbia University Professor Adam Tooze examines the fractures in the American dream, the rise of billionaire power, deepening inequality, and the political forces reshaping the United States. From Trump and Musk to AI, wealth, and China-US relations, he explores what America's turbulent present reveals about its future - and about the world order now taking shape.
00:00 - Opening: Rethinking the 250th anniversary of America
01:11 - China visit context and shifting global perspective
03:19 - Elon Musk, wealth concentration, and private power expansion
06:05 - AI development and the rise of private tech authority
09:26 - Wealth inequality and the political system under strain
12:00 - Trump era politics and the visibility of elite enrichment
16:32 - Global transition: declining unipolarity and rising multipolarity
21:09 - Can extreme inequality destabilize democracy?
25:25 - Immigration, identity, and structural change in the US
30:24 - History as narrative: myths, violence, and reinterpretation
35:21 - Civilizational states vs nation-states and the future order
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3VNMnaJ
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250 years of America - from the "shining city upon a hill" to "America First." In this wide-ranging interview, Columbia University Professor Adam Tooze examines the fractures in the American dream, the rise of billionaire power, deepening inequality, and the political forces reshaping the United States. From Trump and Musk to AI, wealth, and China-US relations, he explores what America's turbulent present reveals about its future - and about the world order now taking shape.
00:00 - Opening: Rethinking the 250th anniversary of America
01:11 - China visit context and shifting global perspective
03:19 - Elon Musk, wealth concentration, and private power expansion
06:05 - AI development and the rise of private tech authority
09:26 - Wealth inequality and the political system under strain
12:00 - Trump era politics and the visibility of elite enrichment
16:32 - Global transition: declining unipolarity and rising multipolarity
21:09 - Can extreme inequality destabilize democracy?
25:25 - Immigration, identity, and structural change in the US
30:24 - History as narrative: myths, violence, and reinterpretation
35:21 - Civilizational states vs nation-states and the future order
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3VNMnaJ
For more opinions, visit: cgtn.com/opinions
