My guest today is Jason Hickel, Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and author of two books: The Divide and Less is More. We discuss why a growth-based capitalist economy is incompatible with a livable planet, and what a truly democratic, post-capitalist economy could look like. We cover lots of topics – including degrowth, AI, the history of capitalist imperialism, and how to achieve a democratic ecosocialist transition.

Thanks to Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) for generously providing us with a space for this interview.

Learn more about Jason Hickel and his work: https://www.jasonhickel.org/

Check out https://globalinequality.org/ to view Jason’s recent project (created in collaboration with a team of fellow researchers) which visualizes data and research on global inequality.

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00:00 Introduction: the climate crisis myth

00:35 Introducing Jason Hickel

02:07 The disconnect between GDP and wellbeing

04:08 Capitalism's flawed production priorities

07:05 The need for economic democracy

11:04 Public finance and climate mitigation

16:12 AI and capitalism

20:52 Building political power for change

25:04 The public job guarantee

34:06 Taxing the rich for a better future

37:00 The benefits of an ecosocialist transition

43:42 Imperialism and the military-industrial complex

48:54 US foreign policy and imperialism

57:31 The hypocrisy of liberalism

1:06:42 Some questions from the audience

1:08:48 Gramsci & other historical figures

1:15:18 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Jason Hickel

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 003. Lots more on the way :)