Why the West Won’t Collapse

Published August 31, 2022

Stephen Kotkin argues that the West is not a geographic term, it’s an institutional package of financial systems, human capital, technology, and rule of law. It turns out that the West is unbelievably powerful. It just needed to remember that.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why does the West not believe or value itself?
  2. What would help revitalize the belief in the West?

Additional Resources:

  • Watch “5 More Questions for Stephen Kotkin: Ukraine Edition,” on Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson and Stephen Kotkin. Available here.
  • Read “Restoring Global Order and Stability In World Markets,” by David Mulford. Available here.
  • Watch “John Yoo Demonstrates the Benefits of Federalism in America,” with John Yoo on PolicyEd. Available here.

Cast

Stephen Kotkin

Stephen Kotkin

Related

Articles

The American Experiment: Blending Liberty And Virtue From The First

The American experiment in ordered liberty assumes that elections will come and go but that amid changing circumstances the nation’s fundamental principles will endure – providing continuity, ballast, and guidance – and citizens will persist in exercising their rights and performing their duties reasonably. 

October 12, 2026

Articles

Bo French’s Rhetoric Misrepresents The GOP

[Subscription Required] The candidate’s anti-Asian comments don’t reflect how most Republicans think.

October 9, 2026

Videos

The Great Fertility Collapse With Jesús Fernández-Villaverde

For the first time in human history, we're not having enough children to keep the world's population from falling. 

October 12, 2026