Breakthrough Dialogues

Avocado Politics

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Episode notes

Nils Gilman has a warning for us: watch out for the coming Avocado Politics. It’s a term the Berggruen Institute president uses to describe a (Brown Shirt) fascist politics wrapped in a (green) environmental layer. Despite popular opinion, Nils argues that climate action won’t necessarily be progressive – and there’s plenty of historical examples to prove the nationalist-environmentalist link. On today’s show: the consequences of alarmist rhetoric, the relationship between technocratism and trust in expert opinion, and how to re-establish strong institutions.

For more on Avocado Politics, find Nils Gilman's essay in the Breakthrough Journal here.