1. Game of chance
6/11/202649 min
John Prideaux, The Economist’s US Editor, embarks on a roadtrip to see how America’s democracy is faring in the era of Trump.
His companion is a long-dead French aristocrat called Alexis De Tocqueville, author of arguably the best book ever written about America.
When Tocqueville arrived in New York in 1831, it was a small, low-slung city where pigs roamed the streets. But he was able to see past that—to a vision of the future.
Arriving in Manhattan today, John finds cause for concern, even among the island’s wealthiest residents.
Guests and Hosts
- John Prideaux, The Economist’s US Editor
- Babara Tober, Philanthropist and former Editor of Brides magazine
- John Catsimatidis, CEO of Red Apple Group
Topics
- Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
- ‘Equality of conditions’ at 250
- The election of Zohran Mamdami
- Declining faith in American democracy
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 1· Soundbite0:01
[upbeat music] The Economist.
Nico Rohfrast0:05
Two thirty, two thirty, two thirty. Statuen Island. This is your last call. Come on, let's go, guys. Headin' down.
John Prideaux· Host0:15
Not long ago, I boarded an outbound ferry from Staten Island in New York. The 25-minute trip takes you across the blue-gray waters of the city's harbor to a terminal on the southern tip of Manhattan. [gentle music] On your left, you pass Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Off in the distance to the right, you see the Brooklyn Bridge. Out in front, the glass, steel, and granite towers of Lower Manhattan reach up to the sky. The buildings are physically imposing, but that's not what draws me to this view. It's what they stand for. Because even if you've never been to New York, you've felt its pull, maybe even imagined yourself inside it, like Ross and Rachel, Spider-Man, or Sinatra. Approaching it via the water, it feels like a great and powerful civilization is opening its arms out to you. On this trip, I stood on the passenger deck and took it all in, but I wasn't here for the sightseeing. I was on the trail of a long-dead hero of mine.