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The Rise of Populism | Munk Debates

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Nov 2, 2018

The Rise of Populism

Be it resolved, the future of western politics is populist not liberal...

Pro
Stephen K. Bannon
Con
David Frum
Result
No side wins

Political Correctness

China

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Be it resolved, the future of western politics is populist not liberal...

Throughout the Western world, politics is undergoing a sea-change. Long-held notions of the role of government, trade and economic policy, foreign policy and immigration are being challenged by populist thinkers and movements. Does this surging populist agenda in Western nations signal a permanent shift in our politics? Or, is it passing phenomenon that will remain at the fringes of society and political power? Will our politics continue to be shaped by the post-war consensus on trade, inclusive national identity and globalization, or by the agenda of insurgent populist politics, parties and leaders? Important Munk Debate correction: there was a technical error last night at the end of the debate. The results from the 2nd audience vote from the start of the evening measuring if people were open to changing their minds was announced, instead of the final results. The final official audience vote on the resolution was 28% in favor - 72% opposed. Opinion in the hall was not swayed and such the debate is a draw. Our apologies for the confusion.

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Vote Results

Pro
Con

Pre-debate

28%

72%

Post-debate

28%

72%

No side wins

The Debaters

Stephen K. Bannon

"I want to bring everything crashing down and destroy all of today's establishment."

Stephen K. Bannon

"I want to bring everything crashing down and destroy all of today's establishment."

Steve Bannon is co-host of “War Room: Impeachment,” a nationally-syndicated radio show and podcast that provides expert real-time analysis of the current impeachment proceedings until the day after the acquittal of President Donald Trump. 
 
Mr. Bannon was CEO of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. At the White House, he served as Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President. 
 
Mr. Bannon is Chairman for the Rule of Law Society, which investigates abuses of power by the Chinese Communist Party, and Co-Founder of the Committee on the Present Danger: China. 

He is an award winning documentary filmmaker. Mr. Bannon has a new docudrama out: Claws of the Red Dragon, exposing the connection between Huawei and the Chinese Communist Party.  

A Goldman Sachs M&A banker, Mr. Bannon has a Master's degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 
 
He was a Surface Warfare Officer serving aboard the USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) in the western Pacific, Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. He served at the Pentagon as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.

 

David Frum

"We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the U.S. that anyone alive has encountered."

David Frum

"We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the U.S. that anyone alive has encountered."

David Frum is a senior editor at The Atlantic and a frequent guest on television in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. His popular Twitter feed is followed by about 825,000 people. 

From 2001 to 2002 he served as a speechwriter and special assistant to U.S. President George W. Bush and, from 2014-17, chaired the board of trustees of Policy Exchange, the United Kingdom's leading center-right think tank. He was, for many years, a member of the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition in the United States. 

Frum is the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestseller Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic and the recently published Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy.

He and his wife Danielle Crittenden Frum live in Washington, DC and Wellington, Ontario.