In this podcast, I discuss with John Christensen how capitalism and democracy have come apart — and why this was not an accident.

Together, we explore the growing fracture between democratic accountability and economic power, and the role of James Buchanan in shaping the ideas behind it. Public choice theory, which he created, claims to defend freedom, but in practice, we argue that it works to constrain democracy and protect wealth from challenge.

As a result, we examine the idea of the “night-watchman state,” where government exists primarily to defend property rights, not people. We also look at how tax havens, created in this form, shift power away from nation-states, creating a race to the bottom on tax, regulation, and rights.

Along the way, we discuss how the language of government itself is being reshaped by far-right thinking of the sort promoted by Buchanan, with terms like “fiscal responsibility” being used to justify policies that are deliberately designed to harm the most vulnerable.

This is not abstract theory. These ideas influence governments, institutions, and everyday life.

If you want to understand why politics feels broken, and why inequality keeps rising, this conversation explains what is really going on — and why it matters.