Trump, China, and the Geopolitics of a Crisis 

Peter Robinson is one of the best interviewers out there. Ask a question, wait for the answer to be complete, ask another question.

Competance and compassion, solidarity with trust. Sounds so wonderful. Now, who fragmented us? Who brought us identity politics? Who are the elites not held accountable? I am a black woman who was so relentlessly targeted with Anti Trump Propaganda, I got suspicious...and now, I am a proud American, not a bitter minority. I'm ready for a fresh start, to work hard, and get our country back!

"In times like these I want Americans without hyphens." A lovely sentiment by Mr. Kotkin in a superb interview.

If you close your eyes, you will believe that Joe Pesci has an enormous take on world affairs.

Kotkin has the most impressive bookshelves of any of the recent Covid-19 home interviews in the media. To the surprise of no one.

A pessimist by nature, yet he is hopeful of unifying the country. Unfortunately the enemy is within, and doing their best to keep us divided. It is easier to destroy than create.

I’ll provide my two answers to the question: Confucius and Confucius. Historically the Chinese put a much higher value on social conformity and equilibrium than any Western notion of freedom.

I'm a simple man. I see Kotkin, I watch.

Why there's hyphenation for certain US racial groups: African-Americans, Asian-Americans, but there's no European-Americans. Why?

Prof Kotkin is a breath of fresh air. A genuinely bright individual with no axe to grind. More please. Is it me or does he sound like Joe Pesci?

Pandemic or not, Mr. Robinson always on duty. Not enough professor Kotkin on the channel, that's for sure.

Absolutely love your interviews Peter, and Professor Kotkin is always a special treat. Thank you.

Unaccountability of elites = Bill and Hilary. Stephen Kotkin is billiant. He is very analytical and seems able to distill complex issues into two or three salient bullet points. I think this was the best and most relevant interview Peter Robinson has ever done.

Thank you so much for this brilliant interview! Stephen Kotkin is such a fantastic speaker (I've seen your previous interviews with him, and some of his other lectures on YT), and Peter Robinson is a very gracious host. I only regret this discussion was so very short (at least it seemed that way!). Please have Mr. Kotkin back soon for a much longer discussion - so many quotable moments from him! I really appreciate his informed perspectives on China in these difficult times!

How about some self-examination about why we have a so-called capitalist economy that requires a massive government funded bailout every 12 years?

As a Chinese I am fully amazed by professor Stephen A. Kotkin. If he could be the officer who in charge of Sino-USA relations, things would be much better. Liberty and cooperation.

My wife, from another room, thought I was watching a Joe Pesci movie on Netflix.

Stephen Kotkin is an intellectual. Rare Intellect engulfs him . Thanks Peter Robinson.

I think the next president of the US needs to talk to Professor Kotkin about their China policy His analysis and recommendations are right on

This expert look at China from outside and probably sounds very smart but from inside China point of view will sound uninformed. He did not mention meritocracy system, Chinese characteristics and large poor population that still exist in rural China.

Joe Pesci is a lot smarter than I thought.

Thank you HooverInstitution, for another great discussion.

Luv this guy Peter. Great questions and his Joe Pesci speak make this a must watch

Always the most interesting educator to learn from. Eagerly awaiting Stalin book three.

This guys an intellectual bad ass. Love the content of this channel!

I could listen to Kotkin for hours

Another top shelf production from the Hoover institution. Thank you for this!

Mr Kotkin's voice and phrasing sounds exactly like Joe Pesci.

This guy is pretty much describing the Democratic Party in the USA TODAY-! Party this, party that, party agendas at all costs.....

Excellent summation of the state of affairs and the western worlds predicament.

Always a pleasure to hear Kotkin's thinking.

Fascinating interview. Thank you for the enlightenment, gentlemen. 🐻

Interesting video. Thank you for posting it.

Awesome interview! Thank you! 🙏🏻

Wonderful interview, very insightful.

Great talk. I always learn here. Thanks.

Another great video. I really enjoy this way of interviewing, and Kotkin is great to listen to!

Thanks to the hoover institution and to Peter Robinson, you sir are an amazing interviewer

I can't wait for the third part of Stalins biography to come out

Outstanding! Thank you.

Thank you Hoover Institution. Please keep up the wonderful work, more necessary than ever!

Brilliant man

Absolutely fascinating... Thank you.

Brilliant! Thank you so much for this.

I wonder if he knows if “Khrushchev Remembers” is his authentic autobiography or not. Interesting book anyway.

Sadly it is never wise to talk with the devil. Even if you perceive him as smart

This is an insightful interview! Thank you.

So Communism isn't " Workers of the world unite." It's "Workers of the world be damned, so long as the Party keeps control."

It is always instructive listening to Dr. Kotkin

Excellent Work 💯

Great interview! Thank you!

kotkin needs a few more books on his shelf. def not enough there.

Fantastic interview. Thank you

Great discussion, thanks for providing it during the lockdown! Please keep it up

Good stuff.👍💪

16:00 Pre-Reqs for growth during difficult economic and social unrest

What again another excellent interview thank you so much

Interesting the two-dimensional analysis of the Leninistic structure x the Dogmatic principles of the Communist Party. Even though the communist "values" fade away the political structure is kept to impose order by force. A parallel of such analysis with physics can be established by stating that communism goes against the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics since it tries to reduce the System's entropy by force, spending energy and resources on this process. One additional stretch now from the physics realm into the political science realm is that someone has to pay for this energy and resources (inefficiency) spent by the system to keep the political structure and its projected power. Once China's stockpile of internal energy is depleted it will have to seek elsewhere for new sources in order to keep the system stable. The Belt and Road initiative might be their plan to keep their wheel turning... The illusion of this perpetual motion system depends on such initiative.

The comments on Kotkin's accent reflect our expectations that intellectuals and professors will have another accent. I know people who have changed their accents to the NPR accent to improve their job prospects.

Intellectual Joe Pesci is my favourite guest on uncommon knowledge. He has an amazingly interesting and understandable way of explaining things.

Bravo🙌

First!! Excellent and insightful as always

Really enjoyed that.

Thank you

Include Kotkins name in the title you’ll get more views

This Guy seems right to me. Wow he knows the wisdom behind the BS.

For me personally the brand made in China means I don't want to buy it. Am I alone? I think many other Japanese consumers like me think this... this is not going to leave me over the rest of my lifetime I can promise you. They can't even get off the first island chain with their Navy. They lose a battle and their Navy to the Japanese Navy. btw usa has too good of a geography to fall. best on the planet...

Fascinating. I'm new here and can already tell this will be one of my favorite channels. I just don't know if I can agree with the notion that the US economy was great before the virus as it's success is leaning on record corporate and national debt and an unprecedented wealth gap. The majority of people were literally living paycheck to paycheck and other countries are even worse to do.

Stephen needs to talk to the Chinese regime!

Brilliant analysis.

Very interesting.

A real pleasure to watch your interviews Peter. Thank you

Dear Professor Kotkin, thank you for your excellent analysis of recent social and international political history. However I should add that you analysis and description of history and international affairs is somewhat biased and your premise and presuposition that one political philosophy eg "Democracy" is better than "Socialism" just because the Western Countries managed to bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union, by all means fair and foul, both overt and covert, but also applying the age old method of "my enemies enemy is my friend" a fatal US foreign policy mistake, initiated by tunneled visioned Mr. Henry Kissinger (needless to say that he forgot Nepolian's quate "don't wake up the sleeping giant")and in the process created an economic and industrial powerhouse that is not only being controlled internally by a so called "Totalitarian Regime" but has become the workshop and supplier of all kind of good and services to the whole world and is on the verge of becoming the largest economy in the world. On the other hand if we look at the epitome of Western Democracies, the USA, what we see is a society totally fractured and divided by monstrous economic inequalities, unemployment, homelessness, drug addicts living in cesspools in downtown NewYork, San Francisco, Los Angeles like animals due to lack of social justice and compassion, and a country unable to survive without cooperation with PRC in normal times let alone in a crisis situation like, we are in today, and a POTUS in Office, unable or unwilling to understand the nature and the epidemiological pathway of COVID-19 (SARS COV-2), and the resultant short and long term medical, social & economic impacts immanating out of the present crisis, despite occasional bru- ha- ha and over optimistic noises from the scientific and research community about the imminant development of a vaccine against a beast of a virus that is capable of continued genetic mutations( remember ebola, it took them 5 years to develop the vaccine, by that time it was controlled by other means and the whole exercise was futile). I, from a political viewpoint cannot tow your line and should add that even now Marxism-Leninism still beats strong in the hearts & minds of millions around the world dreaming of a truly egalitarian and equitable society. Demise of the Soviet Union doesn't mean that the class war has ended. After all one swallow doesn't always bring the summer. Perhaps it would not be out of context to add that vested interest and criminals now a days has donned the coats of "Democracy, Freedom of speech without responsibility and ?'Human Rights" to fool the masses so that they can keep controlling societies and continue their hegemony. Unfortunately their days are numbered. After all as Lincoln said "you can fool some people for some time but not all the people for all the time". Yours sincerely, Dr. Ahmed.

“Government is instituted to protect private property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is just government which impartially secures too every man, whatever is his own.” James Madison (Property; National Gazette, March 29, 1792)

Just like listening to this guy.

When it comes to political parties is Kotkin talking about China or the USA?

I really like him because he sounds like a very scholarly Joe Pesci.

FASCINATING!

Dr Pesci gives a compelling story about the issue.

Ecclesiasticus 10:08 A Kingdom is translated from one people to another, because of injustices and wrongs and injuries and divers deceits.

its so intelligent. such a great talk.

Hoover Institution, I love you guys but a little advice, just do an audio call, and have each individual record video on the webcam, or some better camera, sync audio and video later on in post production. Would be much better quality.

Peter Robinson another of God's miracles your interviews in my view are only equalled by Dan Patrick Great Questions and allows the interviewee to answer . Thank You

Great inside and great interview! Thank you Dr. Kotkin !

I wonder what a Stalin biographer thinks about the popularity of socialism in America. Young people don’t know who Stalin, Mao, Lenin, or Marx were or what they did. They think Chavez and Castro were heroes. The concept that millions died because of communism is completely unknown to a young college graduate. How did this happen? What can we do?

Nations with democracy and human rights will survive...dictatorships with time will diminish even if it seems its economically expanded.

Always great! Especially with Kotkin! You guys rock

It was like hearing radio from 60s... old fashion cliche again and again

I was playing cards and listening thinking this sounds like Joe Pesci then I look and it could be his brother ! LOL

Thank you honest intelligence!

Old School!

Brilliant

25: 00 "social unity" but not "socialism" !! howevver "free stuffer" or not , you will not restore unity by paying peoples with words..if you don't invest money in the people with incomes or state's policies , your unity will just be rhetorical. people are not begging for "compassion" they ask their righteous dignity !

Great conversation guys! Hey question, how do the ever growing Arab and Hispanic populations play into all of this?

Best economy?

If he was president, we Americans would be in a radically different reality

Great interview with Joe Pesci.

Mr,Peter I,salute tonn you and Prof,StepheA superb interview with an,analytical,prophet,,Thank you and Prof,Stephe

China has benefitted our economy but disproportionally so, mainly making rich people richer and poor people stay the same. Also it has made the US more dependant from China not just for all the junk they produce but now even for medical supplies. We gave China their success by buying their cheaper stuff and that made us weaker, not stronger.

Thank you for putting these discussions together, so interesting!