News stories and video record from the visit of author of 'Billionaires' Darrell West
Wealth, Politics, and Democracy was the topics dicussed at the interesting public lecture by Darrel West
Last week, May 12, the CBS Public-Private Platform and the Department of Business and Politics were proud to welcome the author of the book 'Billionaires' Darrell West from the Brookings Institution – the world’s most influential think tank. Darrell held a very interesting public lecture on Wealth, Politics, and Democracy at CBS.
Photo by Jens Dresling - Politiken
As wealth inequality reaches historic heights worldwide, policy-makers and scholars are scrambling for ways to address the growing crisis. In this talk, Darrell West, Vice President of the Brookings Institution and founding director of its Center for Technology Innovation, discussed billionaire political activism, income inequality, and recent elections with an eye towards examining the implications for democracy and the political process. Drawing from his new book, Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust, West discussed contemporary developments in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
The lecture was recorded, and if you missed the presentation, you can watch it via this link.
Great media attention
Darrell's visit received great attention from the Danish media, which led to several interviews - among others in the Danish newspapers Politiken, Information and Weekendavisen.
In Politiken the interview was conducted by journalist Nikolaj Heltoft and highlights West's more critical view on the influence that billionaires have on political decision processes in different countries. If you haven't already read the article you can read it at Politiken's website [in Danish].
In the article in Information the journalist Lisa Homak elaborates on West’s point concerning why the world’s richest need to worry about the middle-class if they want to ensure the stability that is necessary to ensure their fortunes. Read more about this in the article which you can find at Information’s website [in Danish].
The journalist Jeppe Matzen from Weekendavisen reflects on the billionaires’ effect on the political agenda and how their economic power can turn these agendas towards their advantage. During the article Darrell West elaborates on this and how American billionaires’ effects on American policy can pose a risk to American society. You can find the article on page 7 in section 4 in the newspaper Weekendavisen published May 22.
Furthermore the Danish internet-based journal on analysis on contemporary social sciences "Turbulens.net" conducted an in-depth interview with West. Read it in Danish here.