Since October 7th, 2023, we have seen that ideas have consequences in the real world. Phillip Magness is an economic historian who specializes in the economic dimensions of slavery and racial discrimination, the history of taxation, and measurements of economic inequality over time. He also maintains an active research interest in higher education policy and the history of economic thought.

He joins Kate Wand on Liberty Curious to discuss his recent work on Critical Race Theory (CRT), its proliferation in academia and the mainstream, and its connection to the far left’s response to Hamas’ massacre of Israeli citizens. Phil Magness is a Senior Research Faculty and F.A. Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research.

Read more of Phil’s work at philmagness.com
Phil’s Faculty profile at AIER.org
Enjoy the full catalog of AIER Podcasts
Phil’s Article on Critical Race Theory in the Data

Use these timestamps to navigate the interview content:
0:00 – Intro
1:35 – CRT in a nutshell
3:05 – CRT academics’ reactions to Oct 7
10:24 – Media spin
13:08 – Who is colonizing who?
17:07 – What is decolonization?
19:15 – The dangers of CRT in the real world
20:39 – The proliferation of CRT in academia
26:46 – Why are these ideas so seductive?
30:15 – Promises
33:07 – Silver linings?
37:20 – Last Thoughts

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This article was published by AIER, The American Institute for Economic Research, and is reproduced with permission.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons