A Conversation on Climate Change, Catastrophism, and Illiberalism

A panel discussion from the Liberalism for the 21st Century conference

Climate change seems to provoke illiberal reactions from both Right and Left. The former falls prey to know-nothingism in its efforts to deny the existence of a problem that would justify a governmental response. The latter's tendency to catastrophize climate change fosters support for illiberal responses. Neither is a productive response to a serious problem.

This concern was the focus of a panel on which I participated at the ISMA's inaugural Liberalism for the 21st Century conference this past July. Joining me on the "Climate Change: Liberal Solutions" panel was Nils Gilman of the Berggruen Institute, Joseph Majkut of CSIS, and Slow Boring editor Matt Yglesias. The video is below.

An edited transcript (omitting the Q&A) is also available here.