Eastern Europe, liberal democracy, and the disorientation of the left — Nov 2021

"On the barricades" — s03e15 #onthebarricades

Here's the latest installment of our monthly thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs. This time, the period is November 2021. This episode is hosted by Youri Smouter, the host of the "1+1" show on YouTube and a long-time friend of the show.

We begin with the recent COP summit, which, as predicted, was a colossal failure, and then shift gears to Romania and the further deterioration of its political landscape, as well as the ineptness of its ruling class, which leads to major social implosion and the rise of increasingly pathological, right-wing extremist elements. We're also talking about the limitations of liberal democracy and its inadequacy in many Eastern European countries. And we debate all of this in the context of the global pandemic that has devastated Romania, Bulgaria, and other countries in the region this fall; unfortunately, we are once again compelled to criticize certain sectors of the left for developing rather peculiar explanations for the current situation, which only contributes to the problem's escalation rather than its resolution.