The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order (with Prof Gary Gerstle)

About this episode

Kim interviews Gary Gerstle about his book on the neoliberal order and its impact on American politics.

While the podcast team is taking a Radical Sabbatical, Kim is interviewing authors of the books that have had a big impact on her in the past two years.  In this episode, Kim speaks with Gary Gerstle, best-selling author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order and ten other books. Kim said that after reading this book, she began to feel that when it comes to economic policy, we really have a one-party system. The architect of the New Deal Order was FDR, a Democrat, but its general contractor was Eisenhower, arguably the most progressive of all American presidents. The architect of the Neoliberal order was Reagan, but its general contractor was Clinton. Kim also said that reading this book made her realize that, time and again throughout her career, she thought she was working towards progressive ends, not understanding how neoliberalism had taken hold of the Democratic Party.  Gerstle explains that “the phrase political order is meant to connote a constellation of ideologies, policies, and constituencies that shape American politics in ways that endure beyond the two-, four-, and six-year election cycles. In the last hundred years, America has had two political…

People in this episode

Host: Kim Scott

Guest: Gary Gerstle

Topics covered

• neoliberalism
• economic policy
• political orders
• progressive politics
• American history

Keywords

• neoliberal order
• economic policy
• political ideologies
• American politics
• progressive ends

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order

More episodes of Radical Candor: Communication at Work

• Ways to Manage - Back by Brain Science (with Caroline Webb) · September 9, 2026 · 53 min
• Get Situated for Success (with Angela Duckworth) · September 1, 2026 · 52 min
• Revolutionizing Meetings: From Sabotage to Strategy (with Rebecca Hinds) · August 18, 2026 · 49 min
• Why some leaders are incorruptible, many get corrupted by power/money (with Rob Lalka) · August 4, 2026 · 45 min
• How Great Leaders Make Everyone Better (with Liz Wiseman) · July 15, 2026 · 1h 5m
• How to Raise Emotionally Resilient Kids — and Lead the Same Way (with Dr. Becky Kennedy) · July 7, 2026 · 56 min