Kurt Anderson: “Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America" | Amanpour and Company

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Published 2020-08-12

As the pandemic lays bare social, legal, racial and financial injustice in America, it is vital to examine how the system got its start. Kurt Andersen is a best-selling author and journalist whose latest book examines the origins of America’s hyper-capitalism. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about the genesis and propagation of the system--and the need to take a step back.

Originally aired on August 12, 2020.

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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.

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All Comments (21)

@jennifers6435 3 years ago

Those of us who have seen a better America, understand it.
@ibenzawla 3 years ago

The crazy thing is the very people that are screwed are busy celebrating the system that screwed them up. That's just to show you the brilliance and power of these "evil geniuses". Great conversation.
@mk1st 3 years ago

Just like children, capitalism needs boundaries to develop good behavior.
@justgivemethetruth 3 years ago

How many times do we all have to hear this before we demand that action be taken ?
@lohphat 3 years ago

Yep. Not ONE Wall Street banker CEO in federal prison for the mortgage lending fraud in 2007-2008. All the "fines" were just cost of doing business.
@larrybean379 3 years ago

This encapsulates all I've learned in 16 years since my career at HP was outsourced. 21 years of production, innovation, engineering, sold to the lowest bidder for corporate profits. I obtained, but lost the American dream. My dream of a career in electronics to change the world. I saw the birth of cell phones, internet, laptops, cable TV. Yes Louis Powell spured Nixon to put down Unions and take back controll of business so CEO's could send our jobs and generations of invocation to the new labor market which Nixon opened up, China. Their economy grew by 10% year over year while we struggled to maintain a subsistence living. What is the result? Thousands of Billionaires. An American populate disenchanted with "career politicians " who elected an outsider to be Commander in chief and the restorer of American promise. But alas, we now are Subject to a Playboy-Mobster, who is not equipped or experienced to meet the requirements of the office he holds. Where do we go from here? Semper Fi
@proudhavenot 3 years ago

I'm glad there is a spotlight on this. After 2008 I realized the narratives we grew up with were all lies. A reset won't help me but it will help everyone in the future.
@sniferlip 3 years ago

This interview is true, exactly right, and depressing
@edwardtatum6136 3 years ago

I have to agree. I started as a steelworker in 1976, layoffs started in about 1982 till about 1985. My company, Inland Steel didn't really start hiring again until about 1990. I was able to get a 41 year career. Company got screwed up when a guy named Wilbur Ross showed up.
@blueoak116 1 year ago

Bravo! Finally Anderson nails it! His previous book, Fantasyland, distracted us with the antics of hippies. Now his vision penetrates to the the heart of our matter. There are real evil geniuses at the helm.
@reganjo1955 3 years ago

Jane Mayer’s ‘Dark Money’ tells the same story. Deep reporting and covers Devoss, Olin, Bradley’s and of course the Koch’s all the way back a century.
@ongogablogian3431 3 years ago

"The chronic American weakness of entertaining falsehoods." 😵 This video presents quite a comprehensive view. Well done, Anderson and host.
@birhan2006 3 years ago

Look at Regan the beginning of the end, the number of homeless people grew in the 1980s, as one indicator
@b4ned 3 years ago

Ms. Amanpour--You are the best! keep doing this kind of programming...please!!!
@richardcory5024 3 years ago

The one indispensable ingredient in this farcical tragedy is the outright gullibility of the American people, as Kurt Andersen chronicles unerringly.
@xelakram 3 years ago

America's future looks bleak. Americans' thinking is so convoluted and warped. They would be well-advised to think clearly rather than try and intellectualise everything. Put simply: Build a fairer society for all Americans!
@joelkavanagh1464 3 years ago

all it takes for evil to triumph is the " good " people to stand down ...
@magicunicorn4070 3 years ago

It was all about GREED - on both sides - and we regular American people paid the ultimate price... our futures.
@patriciamasterson4721 3 years ago

We need to Tax The Oligarchy. Most powerful who underpay their working staff and create a welfare Country. They need to pay back those who they have stolen from. End of discussion. I recently heard someone suggest a Wealth Tax during Pandemic. The working class or as I define as "worker bees" deserve that which they have truly earned in past decades. Bring Federal minimum wage up to where it belongs. Stop thinking of hardworking people like slaves. When My generation finished High School, State Colleges were basically free. Let's get back to basics. Our young adults owe tens of thousands of dollars in debt now.
@kelcritcarroll 3 years ago

The basis of all crap that basically happens on the earth is caused from greed. GREED